Cascade Effect
by Gweniveve Skyes
Summary: Defined, the cascade effect is a small event altering an entire system forever. For Mai, none of this was ever supposed to happen. Not to Joey. Now she'll fight to get him back from the Shadow Realm, even if it means going to the deepest recesses of Hell to do so. Heaven help those who stand in her way. AU. Polarshipping Mai/Joey
1. Chapter 1: Hollow Point Rounds

**Cascade Effect**

**AU time! This was inspired through a combination of a conversation and plot bunnies wondering why the original DM had so little in the terms of girl power. Thus this was born, out of misery, tears, and feels. Mostly on my behalf because I can't do duels to save my life. But also on your behalf as well because I don't know when to quit on the shipping hints/feels front.**

** You have been warned. **

** A handful of notes as well:**

** 1. lot of the dialogue will be ad-libbed, as taking ****just about **_**every single line**_** from the original would be rather silly and unoriginal. Some lines will be used from the original because feels will usually go along with said lines. There's also going to be a tweak to one of the names. Odion in the dub will be called "Rishid" because I like Rishid better. The name "Odion"? Ehhh. . **

** 2. There is cursing in this story. Nothing overly major, but it will seem like a blend of sub and dub in terms of dialogue. **

** 3. All the chapter names are taken from songs, since this story has its own playlist I built. The artist will at the end of each chapter, in case you're interested.**

Chapter 1: Hollow Point Rounds

_Simply defined, the cascade effect is an unforeseen chain of events due to an act affecting a system. All it takes is one simple action, one simple choice that can alter the course of the system and that parts that compose of it, forever. Sometimes, especially in the biological sense, this is catastrophic, often times causing the death of the cell or living organism._

_ Sometimes however, these changes can lead to the start of something more, where evolution takes a guiding hand to make something better than what it was originally._

_ But for the cascade effect to take a hold-_

_ -there must be an act on the system._

_.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

_"Would the remaining duelists and guests please return to the dining hall for the next duel!" _They heard Isono's voice over the PA system as they stood about the unconscious body of Ryou in the hospital bed. The change of events, with Marik supposedly forcing Ryou to the surface and pushing _Yami_ Bakura to the background had unnerved them, particularly Yugi. Could Marik do the same thing to them, forcing Yugi to emerge during a Shadow Game and causing him to suffer whatever evil designs Marik had planned for them?

"Poor Bakura," Yugi said quietly. Ryou's body looked so pale and still under the white blanket; it reminded the young boy more of a body in the morgue rather than his soul being in the Shadow Realm. The fluorescent lights of the room did little to assist Ryou's pallor, making him look more clammy and unhealthy highlighting the sheen of sweat on his brow. His pale hair was spread out around him like a halo, the strands almost the same color as the blankets.

"Will he be alright?" Serenity asked, voice full of concern.

"He will," Joey replied. "We'll make sure of it."

_"We will bring him back,"_ Yugi felt the ghostly presence of _Yami_ Yugi on his shoulder. _"We will bring them all back and stop Marik from hurting another one of our friends."_

Yugi was the last to leave the room, looking back over his shoulder one last time at the still body on the bed before crossing the threshold and entering the hallway.

The dining hall seemed colder and emptier when then they entered, the tension think and heavy in the air. Joey shot a sidelong glance at the man who claimed himself to be Marik, standing off to the side, hood pulled over his face, his black cloak shrouding his body like a fog. He could see the sharp lines of the tattoos on his face, his green-gold eyes were intense like a hawk.

"I'm not sure if I want to duel him," Joey muttered to his breath.

Mai overheard him. "Scared then?" she teased halfheartedly. "Scared that I'll get the god card before you do?"

Joey snorted, rolling his eyes playfully. "Like that will ever happen. I'm gonna get it first! Then I'll wipe the floor with everything."

"Is that a challenge?" She winked, nudging him in his left side with her elbow.

Tristan leaned over to Duke, whispering, "I think they're flirting with each other."

Duke rolled his eyes. "Nah, really?"

"If everybody could circle around," Roland began, standing atop a platform. A bingo machine in the shape of one of Seto's signature monsters, the "Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon". Ping pong balls stamped in numbers floated about wildly in the belly of the machine. "The next two duelists will be selected randomly. Please remember your numbers." The first number landed in one of the heads and Roland plucked it out, holding it in the air. "The number drawn is number four! Mai Valentine!"

"Well, looks like you'll be getting your shot later," she told Joey. "See you in the semi-finals."

"Yeah, yeah."

"And the second will be number seven, Marik Ishtar!"

The group spun about to face the man who claimed to be Marik, his face stony and expressionless. Joey shuddered, unpleasant memories rising to the surface. "Be careful. This guy's up to no good. Nothing good comes out from dueling guys like him."

_Yami _Yugi advised, "Marik is a treacherous and crafty character to duel."

"Trust me, I'll be safe. I'm the "Queen of Games", remember? I've handled goons like this by the handful back in the day. I've got plenty of tricks up my sleeves."

"'Back in the day'? What was that, like, eight months ago?"

"Joey. . ." Mai warned, eyes narrowing.

"I'm just saying," he shrugged, attempting to diffuse the situation."But still, good luck with him. And be _careful._"

She shot him a sidelong glance before replying. "Thanks kiddo."

Tristan whispered. "Still flirting. . ."

Tea scowled, sneaking up behind them before tugging sharply on both Tristan and Duke's ears. "Will you two _stop_ that? Really? I mean, _really_?"

"But it's the truth," Tristan insisted, shrugging helplessly.

"You still don't have to shout it to the world!"

"I was whispering," Tristan protested.

"Yeah, _stage_ whispering, you dorks."

"Not our fault if they don't get the hint," Duke shrugged.

Tea sighed. "I swear, you two. . ."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

She was sitting at the porthole of her room, looking out through the glass when she felt the first rumblings on the horizon. She went to the Necklace at her throat, fingers brushing along the ancient burnished gold. Something wasn't right.

Something had changed.

"Show it to me," she beseeched the Item, her chest filling with dread. "Show me what I need to see, what I wish to see." The Necklace began to glow, soft light emitting from the metal. Rapidly, the light filled the room, blinding any passerby with its rays, should they peek through the gaps of the doors and windows. Within moments, the light vanished and she sighed gustily in despair. So much has changed in a single gesture, one single action. Whatever she had predicted before was now in jeopardy. Everything was altered in that single action. She would have to fix everything, for her family. She would have to change the future, set it right back to its original course, the one it was meant to take.

"Seto," she breathed. She would confront him. He could fix everything.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

To the citizens dwelling in the city below, it would have been the perfect night: perfectly clear, crisp but not freezing and hardly a breeze to interfere with their evening plans.

For the duelists atop of Seto Kaiba's dueling blimp—which really was nothing more than a plan to stoke his ego according to the general consensus—it was more or less the opposite. Swift cold breezes buffeted the zeppelin at random intervals, making it difficult to even hold one's cards or stand, let alone duel, atop the platform that Seto had designed and built. It was essentially in the shape of an oval, with projectors on either side to the field, better enhancing the holographic projections. Metal guard rails lined the edges, preventing the duelists from falling should an errant breeze blow them over. One could hear the sharp clicking of Mai's heels as she stepped on the platform. "Marik" stepped on shortly after her. Both duelists eyed each other like predators entering combat; gauging each other's strengths and weaknesses.

"I expect an honorable duel from you, _Marik_," Mai practically, spat recalling what Marik's powers had done to her friends, Joey and Bakura. "No Millennium Rod or else there will be hell to pay."

"I can assure you Ms. Valentine, that this will be the most difficult duel you will face," "Marik replied, tone deep and sonorous. It would be almost soothing were it not for the current context. "Whether it will be deemed "honorable" I cannot say, but I can assure you that I have no need for the Millennium Rod here. Prepare yourself Ms. Valentine and brace for the darkness that will consume the field!"

"Duel!"

"I will play first," Mai began, drawing her card. "I place Amazoness Fighter on the field in attack mode and lay two face down cards to finish my turn." Amazoness Fighter was a woman of much taller and more muscular stature, wearing little in the way of clothing save a loincloth and breast band. Bandages were wrapped about her knuckles and wrists.

"Very well then Ms. Valentine." 'Marik' slid a card in the field slot in the Duel Disk. "Prepare to meet the card that will end any chance of you ever winning this tournament. I activate my Magic Card, "Temple of The Kings!" The platform under their feet began to rumble and quake, knocking Mai off balance. She grabbed onto the railing, watching in awe as pillars carved in hieroglyphics and black granite statues of a dog headed dog erupted from the ground. A set of stairs led to a golden sarcophagus not unlike that of the Arc of the Covenant at the top. A statue of a kneeling jackal guarded it protectively.

"Apparently I should get myself a whip and satchel," Mai joked weakly.

"This is no joke Ms. Valentine, for this card holds many secrets, far more than you will ever realize."

Joey shouted from the sidelines, hands cupped over his mouth. "Then stop blathering, Belloq, and show us!"

"All in good time, Mr. Wheeler. I place two cards face down and end my turn."

"Hmph," Mai smirked. "All talk and no show huh. Then I play my Dunames Dark Witch, also in attack mode! Now I activate my Set card, Harpie's Feather Duster!" A tornado of feathers swept onto the field, blowing dangerously closer to the ancient Temple.

"Yeah!" Tea exclaimed. "Now Marik has nothing on the field!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that,"_Yami_ Yugi warned cautiously.

"Judgement of Anubis!" Marik interjected. The windstorm disintegrated in an instant, feathers blasted everywhere. "This cancels out any of your trap of magic cards that target mine and when I discard one of my cards," he slid the unknown card into the Graveyard slot, "Then I can destroy both Harpie's Feather Duster and your monsters, costing you half of their total attack Points! And don't worry about your Amazoness Fighter Ms. Valentine, you still take damage." Mai flinched as her Life Points ticked down to 2350.

Serenity turned to Joey, in somewhat of a panic. "That's almost half her Life Points!"

"Mai's a smart girl," Joey explained. "She'll find a way out of it. She always does."

"Pity that this duel is going to end so shortly," 'Marik' remarked, almost woefully. "I had heard so much about your dueling prowess."

Mai snorted, "You're gonna wish it was quick once I'm through with you. I place my Unfriendly

Amazon in attack mode as well as one face down and end my turn."

'Marik' eyed her cautiously. She was leaving herself wide open for an attack; she was planning something; what he wasn't sure, so he would have to play it safe for now. "I place one card and end my turn."

"Hmph. You know, for a guy who runs an evil organization, you're sure acting a little tentative," Mai remarked disdainfully.

"You have very little understanding of the workings of such things."

Mai swore she heard a slight hesitation on his behalf, like he had issues stating it. _"Something's not right here," _she thought to herself. She would have to watch more carefully to pick up on more clues. "Looks like if you won't make a move, then I will! Next I play my Amazon Scouts in attack mode." The Amazon Scouts didn't seem like much compared to The Unfriendly Amazon, comprised of two young girls, one in red and one in blue, bearing a short sword and short bow. "Unfriendly Amazon, attack Marik directly!"

"I activate Eye of Ujat! This allows me to redirect your attack to another one of your monsters. "Unfriendly Amazon", attack her "Amazon Scouts"!" An Eye of Wadjet materialized in front of 'Marik'. The sword blade of Mai's monster bounced off the stone Eye, the harsh sound of metal ringing off of stone jarring everybody's ears. The Unfriendly Amazon then spun about, blade raised over her head and charged the Amazon Scouts.

"Pfft! You wish. I play my card Trap Jammer which cancels out your attack." Marik's Eye of Ujat shattered, allowing The Unfriendly Amazon to attack him once more. Marik winced as The Unfriendly Amazon slashed across his head and torso, cutting his Life Points by half, to 2000.

"And that's how you do it!" Joey high fived _Yami_ Yugi, taking him by surprise. "You got this Mai!" As he finished, she turned to her side, flashing him a wink and a thumbs up.

"Fllirrrtingg-" Duke whispered dramatically.

"What was that?" Joey asked.

"Nothing, nothing at all." Tea sighed melodramatically as Duke and Tristan snickered.

"And now Amazon Scouts, attack him as well!"

"So you think Ms. Valentine. I activate the Embodiment of Apophis!" Marik's field became filled with monsters, one of which slashed the Amazon Scouts in two, causing Mai's Life Points to drop by another eleven-hundred points, from 2350 to 1250.

Mai pulled a face in displeasure, her plan backfiring on her."What the—Oh good lord they're hideous!" The creatures on Marik's side of the field were an abomination to say the least. Their lower torsos were of serpents, scales of black and violet. A breastplate of gold and black metal rested squarely on their shoulders. The beasts had two heads, one of a human with a shaved pate and black skin, the other of a snake, presumably a viper, looming over the human, weaving and ducking constantly. They bore scimitars and kite shields.

"These are a very rare type of monster called "Trap Monsters". They can function as both a Trap Card and a Monster. I highly doubt you have heard of these kinds of monsters," he added, a slight lilt to his voice that could be taken as a sneer.

"Have you heard of them Yugi?" Joey asked. "'Cuz I haven't."

"To be frank, I haven't heard of such monsters either," _Yami _Yugi admitted with a shake of his head. "But if they can take aspects of both trap and monster, then they will have as many weaknesses as well."

"Which she'll be able to exploit," Tea finished for him.

"Exactly."

"They're still a monster," Mai added. "So they can be just as easily beaten. I summon my Amazoness Paladin." She looked identical to Mai, from the long blonde hair streaming down her back to the fierce violet eyes; they were even near identical in height. The only difference was that the monster was dressed in cream colored garments that did little to cover her lithe figure.

"Wow, is it me or does the Amazoness look a _lot_ like Mai?" Joey whispered to _Yami_ Yugi.

"Do you _really_ have a problem with it?" Tristan asked slyly, nudging Joey in the side.

"Aw, shut yer piehole, Tristan!" Joey hissed, trying to fight the blush that was blooming on his cheeks as he placed Tristan in a temporary headlock.

"Sadly she's not as strong as she could be, but she will eventually," Mai offered with a wink. "But she's plenty strong enough to take your monsters out! Amazoness Paladin, take out his Embodiment of Apophis! You too, Unfriendly Amazon!" 'Marik' watched as both women swung down their blades. His monsters made an attempt to deflect the blows with their shields but they were cracked asunder with a single blow. The creatures went next as the blades tore through them as easily as a knife through silk. There was still a single Embodiment of Apophis still on the field; Mai would deal with it shortly. Marik's life Points dropped down to 1500.

"A noble effort, Ms. Valentine, but they shall be in vain." Marik drew a card from his deck. "I activate Swords of Revealing Light which prevents you from attacking for three turns." Mai watched as swords crafted from a mystical light rained down from the heavens, forming a ring about her side of the field. "You should be grateful Ms. Valentine, for this prolongs your defeat just a little bit longer."

"Really laying on the whole "villain" spiel aren't you?" Mai asked, arms crossed. "Any thicker and you should be in a Chuck Norris film. You see, three turns for you is three turns for me as well. I summon Cyber Harpie in attack mode, then I activate my magic card, Elegant Egotist, which turns one Harpie into three. I end my turn."

Marik drew his card. For a moment, Mai saw the man's face pale, giving him an unhealthy pallor. His eyes flickered one way, then another before straightening himself."I activate one of the abilities of Temple of the Kings and remove it from play. Then I will end my turn."

"All talk and no show," Mai drew her card, the corner of her lip curling into a smirk. "I sacrifice my Unfriendly Amazon and Amazoness Paladin to summon Harpie's Pet Dragon! And thanks to its special ability, she gains 300 attack and defense points for each Harpie on the field. And since there are three, that ups Harpie's Pet Dragon attack to 2900!"

"Sweet, once those Swords of Revealing Light go away, she'll be able to wipe him out and win the game!" Joey crowed. "You go Mai!"

Marik said nothing, instead drawing his card. "I pass my turn."

"Pass your—what?" Mai raised an eyebrow. _"Now there is _definitely_ something wrong here. Marik would at least play something. Better play it safe for now._ As her turn ended, the swords formed of light faded. "Now do your worst."

"It would appear that I will," Marik remarked coolly. "I activate my two magic cards! First, my Cup of Sealed Souls, then I play "Seal of Serket" to summon Mystical Beast of Serket!" The Temple rumbled, and the dueling field seemed to crack asunder as a scorpion of hideous proportions with a gaping mouth filled with multiple rows of shark like teeth, its tail and pincers the color of fresh black ink. An Eye that reminded Mai of the Millennium Eye of Pegasus was in the middle of its back. "Beast of Serket, attack her first Cyber Harpie!" The scorpion skittered across the field, pincers gripping Cyber Harpie's wings before consuming her. Mai watched in horror as its Attack Points climbed from 2500 to 3400. Then the beast began to morph into something more horrific, rearing up on its hind claws, its carapace growing as it increased in size. "Hide behind your defenses all you want, but it won't stop the Beast of Serket from systematically dismantling what little hopes you have left."

"Trust me, I'll find a way to get rid of that creepy little bug in no time!" Mai drew her card, scowling at her hand. There were a couple of cards in her deck that could take out Mystical Beast of Serket, mainly being Gravity Bind and Mirror Wall, but she drew neither, nor did she have them in her hand at the moment. She didn't have any cards that would allow her to seek those cards out either. "Damn," she muttered under her breath. "I place Harpie's Pet Dragon in defense mode and I finish my turn."

"Serket, attack her second Harpie!" Mai had to look away as her second monster was devoured; once again, Harpie's Pet Dragon lost attack points and that accursed scorpion gained another 900, to a total of 4300. The back of the monster split open, revealing four translucent wings like that of a dragonfly. "You might as well give up now, and save yourself the humiliation of a crushing defeat."

"And now I know you're not truly Marik!" Mai said at last, pointing an accusing finger. "If you were the real Marik, you wouldn't have been so polite during this entire duel! The real Marik likes to torture and cheat and find whatever ways he can to get ahead."

He took a step back, a flash of surprise upon his features before he quickly suppressed it, scowl deepening and brows furrowed. "False accusations are beneath you. If you think that I am the false Marik, would I have been able to control Bakura during his duel with The Pharaoh? Would I have been able to use the Millennium Rod?" Mai wavered and he continued. "If you are still so certain that I am not truly Marik, then wait and see and I'll prove it to you!"

"Like it will ever get to that point," She felt an inkling of hope as she drew Graceful Charity. "I activate Graceful Charity, which lets me draw three cards," she elegantly pulled three cards from her deck. "And then discard two." Gravity Bind and Mirror Wall were still not in her hand. She was running out of ideas and Mystical Beast was shredding her lines of defenses. Soon she would have nothing left and she was absolutely positive that the card 'Marik had removed from play earlier was in fact, the Winged Dragon of Ra. "Your move," she spat.

"It's time to strike the final blow. Serket, destroy her Harpie's Pet Dragon!" Serket's Attack Points ratcheted up to 5450 and all that was left between Mai and Marik's monster was a single measly Cyber Harpie. The head of the scorpion, it she could call it that anymore-it was more like some eldritch abomination called from the depths of hell—grew more rows of teeth and the Millennium Eye that was on its back, grew a stalk which bobbed and weaved above the horrific maw. The last time she had felt in such despair was at Duelist Kingdom, with her duel with Panik, the Eliminator. She exhaled, waiting for the inevitable that was to come.

"Mai!" She caught a glimpse of Joey from the platform calling out to her. "Don't give up! We know you can do it! You just gotta believe and we're right behind you every step of the way!"

Somehow, his words gave her a second wind, a burst of encouragement to finish this duel out. Yugi had always preached the "Heart of the Cards" so could it work here? There was only one way to find out. She closed her eyes then drew from her deck. She cautiously took a peek at it and wanted to shout in joy. It was Mirror Wall! _"Perfect!"_ she thought excitedly. If he would attack Cyber Harpie, she would play it and wipe its attack points by half. Not enough for Cyber Harpie to beat it, but enough for a fighting chance. _"Maybe this whole "Heart of the Cards" really works. _I place one card face down and end my turn!"

He looked to be conflicted over on the other side of the field, gazing down at his duel disk as if awaiting some sort of answer from it. He glanced over to his left once more. Who was he looking at over there? It certainly wasn't Yugi nor the rest of the gang and Kaiba stood on the other side, a permanent frown on his face the entire time. Whatever doubts he had were soon dissipated and he faced her once more. "It's time for you to face your defeat. I activate the final special ability of the Temple of the Kings. By sacrificing one monster from the field and half my Life Points," the amount dropped from 1500 to 750, "I can summon back the monster I removed from play earlier. I summon the Winged Dragon of Ra! In the name of Pharaoh Marik, I command you to come forth from the tomb and finish this duel once and for all!" He turned his back to her, his Millennium Rod outstretched and raised upwards.

"Ah, hell," Mai muttered, watching as thunderheads began to coalesce about the Temple circling it like vultures. The sarcophagus at the top of the stairs opened, the card that had been hiding inside now revealed. Shafts of golden light shot out from it and she turned her face, unable to look directly into it. Shortly thereafter did the heavens open up, an unearthly green light pouring from the thunderheads. Lightning flashed all around them and she braced herself for what was to come. The lightning was to strike the blimp soon, she was sure of it. She gaped in awe as the God that everybody had been talking about emerged from the brewing storm. It was massive, far larger than any monster she had faced before, looking more like a cross between a griffon and a dragon. Ra had an almost mechanized appearance, fashioned from pure gold it looked like. Eyes like rubies glared downwards at the almost miniscule people beneath it. Heat waves rolled off of it, cinders falling down like rain all about them.

"And thanks to the Mystical Beast of Serket attack points, the Winged Dragon of Ra attack points are now 5450, more than enough to wipe you out in these next two turns! Winged Dragon of Ra, wipe out her last Cyber Harpie!"

"Not so fast! I activate Mirror Wall, which halves your flaming chicken's points in two!" A barrier of shimmering frosted glassed sprang forth from the field, shielding Mai for what was to come.

"You have made a terrible mistake, Ms. Valentine! Trap cards do not work on the God cards!" The barrier shattered almost instantly, shards of glass floating about her like dust motes. "Now, attack her once more!" Mai closed her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest, bending her knees slightly to stand against the glow. She waited for the attack, but it never came.

She glanced upwards, to find the God monster not attacking. "Why isn't it?-" she trailed off, confused by the change of events.

Marik was clearly bewildered as well. "I told you, attack her Harpie!" Still the god card did nothing, instead gazing down in judgment. "Why aren't you attacking!"

Nobody expected for what happened next.

Ra let out an unearthly screech, wings outstretched as it began to disintegrate into ashes. The air turned hot from the heat waves that rolled off, the scent of ozone in the air as the lighting strikes became more frequent. Then the lightning began to strike the field, one bolt dangerously close on her left side. "What did you do?" she snarled, heart hammering in her chest, fear beginning to take hold. "_This wasn't supposed to happen. This wasn't how the duel was supposed to go! _What's going on?" She shrieked in surprise as another bolt landed a few feet in front of her. She couldn't hear anything over the wailing winds and the constant rumble of thunder, but she swore she heard Joey scream her name. She took a cautious step forward and she gasped in horror as the man in front of her, the one who called himself Marik, get struck by a bolt. He fell to the earth limply, like a marionette who just had its strings cut.

"Time to get out of here and under some cover," she told herself, moving carefully across the field as the strikes increased in frequency. It was like a dance as she sidestepped and twisted about to avoid it. Then she felt it. It was like all her nerves suffered from an overload of information, sending waves of agony throughout her body all at once. Her muscles spasmed instinctively and she stumbled, landing harshly on her knees. She faintly heard her name shouted once more and she remembered nothing after that as the dark overwhelmed her consciousness.

**Looks like we're off to a great start because **_**cliffhangers**_**. I would say sorry, but I have plans for this story and it would be silly to keep apologizing after **_**every**__**single**_** chapter. So yes. . .I am a horrible human being. Also many thanks to two friends looking this over before I published this. All and Sundry would let me throw ideas at her and Kohaku no Hime for acting as a Beta of sorts. You two are awesome and I'm uber appreciative of all that you do. The cover for Cascade Effect was drawn by a tumblr friend, kintatsujo. Thank you again for the beautiful art!**

** "Hollow Point Round" is done by Sonic Librarian.**


	2. Chapter 2: Half Life

Chapter 2: Half Life

**And now back to your regularly scheduled angst.**

"Nooooo! Mai!" Joey's screams of anguish roared over the rumble of the thunder all about them. He charged forward to get to the platform, to get to her. He paid little attention to the jagged bolts that of lightning still struck the dueling field. As he grasped one of the railing bars to make a flying leap up, he felt a jolt of electricity go through his arm, numbing it like he had just pinched a nerve. He shook his hand out as he pulled away, ready to make another attempt to get to her when he felt a pair of hands grab his shoulders, yanking him back.

"You're gonna get yourself disqualified!" Tristan bellowed in his ear.

"Get off of me! I gotta get to her! She's hurt and I gotta get to her!" he cried out, fighting his friend's grip and succeeding. Duke joined in, pulling his arms back.

"Don't do anything stupid," Duke added.

After a few moments struggling against their grip, he sagged forward, utterly defeated. "But. . . but I gotta get her out of there. . ."

"Be strong for Mai," _Yami _Yugi offered sagely. "Be strong for her and she'll get through this I promise." Joey choked back a strangled sob that was caught in his throat.

"You said it yourself," Serenity offered, reaching out to clasp his hand. "Mai's a tough girl, she'll get through this."

He said nothing, nodding weakly in reply.

Roland turned to Kaiba, unsure what to do. "Should we declare Ms. Mai Valentine the winner, since she has more Life Points than Marik Ishtar, or should we declare a tie?-"

"We will have a ten minute waiting period. Whichever duelist stands up first will be declared the winner," Kaiba said curtly, crossing his arms. "If neither of them gets up, well, it's their loss."

Tea scowled."Ten minutes! They need to go see a doctor immediately!" From the corner of her eye she could see Joey fuming with rage, ready to jump to the other side and drive Kaiba's head through the nearest brick wall.

"Then do whatever you will after the ten minutes. Roland, start the clock."

"Yes Sir."

"I'm going to kill that Kaiba one of these days," Joey snarled through gritted teeth, fists clenched.

"But let's not, we have more important things to consider," Tea added.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_She felt something tickle her nose and she twitched, resisting the urge to open her eyes and putting a stop to the source. Mai made an attempt to ignore it but the tickling began one more to her dismay._

_ "Jeez, she's hard to wake up," a voice mumbled. It was Joey, his accent instantly recognizable. Now she was miffed and she started to mentally plan out her inner diatribe, which she would unleash on him once she awoke. "Like Sleeping Beauty over here."_

_ "Maybe you should kiss her, to see if she'll wake up!" _That_ was Tristan and Mai promptly decided that it would be Tristan who would suffer her wrath first, then Joey. That comment was uncalled for. . .maybe._

_ "Aw shuddup Tristan or I'm gonna go over there and shut it for you!"_

_ Whatever chance she had of getting some more rest was now irrevocably gone, flying off into the proverbial sunset. She flickered her eyes open and yawned. "Maybe you should yell a little louder, so the people in the local cemetery can hear you," she remarked sarcastically. _

_ "Well somebody's awake at last," Joey peered down at her, eyes twinkling merrily as he twiddled a vibrantly green leaf just above her nose. He wore a crimson t-shirt that did little to hide his lean frame as well as a pair of stone washed jeans, ripped up at the knees. A jean jacket was tossed to one side. Mai wanted to blush as she didn't realize that he had prominent muscles in his arms and chest. He always wore jackets to cover them up. A pity in her book._

_ Mai said nothing, instead reaching up to pluck the offending object from Joey's fingers before crushing it in her fist. She sat upright against the trunk of tree, trying to get a sense of her surroundings. She was in a park, underneath a massive oak. Beams of sunlight wove through the tree branches, creating a dappled effect and warming her skin. They were atop of a gentle slopping hill, a tan gravel path encircling one side before curving away into the distance. Leaves of pale gold and green were littered about her, indicating that it was early fall. "And what exactly are you doing here?" she inquired, patience running thin._

_ "Somebody had to wake you up. You're gonna miss the tourney."_

_ "What tourney?" For the life of her, Mai could not recall a 'tourney' of any sort._

_ "The one that you were so insistent about winning. Something about being the "Queen of Games" and yadda, yadda, yadda." He gestured vaguely, making a talking mouth motion with his right hand. In response, she dropped the handful of crushed leaves on his head. "We were looking all over for you and we found you here," he finished indignantly, brushing the debris from his hair._

_ "We?"_

_ "Yeah. Me, Yuge, Tea and everybody else. We were so worried."_

_ "You were?"_

_ "Yep. Well, I was and so were Tea and Yugi and Serenity. I think Tristan and Duke are busy ogling over my sister. Bunch of perverts," he mumbled, looking over his left shoulder at the rest of the group, standing off to one side. _

_ "_Why were they standing over there instead of by the tree?" _she wondered. _"Did they just spontaneously decide to send Joey as some sort of emissary or was it something else? _But seriously, you were looking for me?"_

_ "Well duh," he scoffed. "I ain't gonna leave my friend in the lurch. Thankfully your car ain't that hard to find," He pointed to her right, where her convertible sat about seventy yards away on a tamped down dirt road. "And besides, I gotta have some competition in the tourney," he laughed lightly. _

_ "I'm flattered," she drawled acerbically, but in reality she was. That he would take time from his day just to go looking for her as well as the others; but oddly enough, in the grand scheme of things, his friends didn't seem to matter as much. She enjoyed the attention he showered on her, she admitted._

_ He stood up and stretched, yawning like as cat as he did so. He bent over for his jean jacket, beating out whatever blades of grass and leaves that had decided to affix itself to the denim fabric. He glanced downwards. "You coming or what? I ain't exactly going to bring the tournament to you."_

_ "I'm coming, I'm coming," she grumbled, tossing a handful of leaves in his direction. He laughed again, the sound carefree and wonderful to her ears. He smiled broadly, the grin brighter than the sunbeams that danced all around her. She stretched out her legs and popped the vertebrae in her back before wobbling upright, one hand leaning against the trunk of the tree. Why did her knees feel so weak and shaky? She took a step forward and stumbled, the knees giving out oddly._

_ She felt a pair of reassuring hands grasping her lower back and waist. "There, I got you," Joey said soothingly._

_ "I don't need help," she insisted, weaving her way out of his grip before tripping again. Once again, he caught her, much to her annoyance._

_ "You sure about that? You can't even take a single step without falling over."_

_ "It's these shoes," Mai insisted half-heartedly. "They're catching on these stupid grass clods."_

_ Joey remained skeptical. "Riiiight."_

_ "I'm fine I'm fine—oof!" Her heel caught on a small exposed root and she slipped._

_ "Hmph." Joey looked awful smug in that moment. "Just let me help you."_

_ She rolled her eyes before caving in to his offer. "Fine, if you must be so chivalrous about it." She looped her left arm about his right shoulder and he placed his hands on her waist. She ignored the electric sensation she felt on her skin where he had accidentally brushed against her._

_ "You alright there?"_

_ "Yeah," she admitted. "And um. . .thanks by the way."_

_ If it were possible, his smile would have grown even wider. "No problem." His smile shifted from exuberant to soft. "Besides, I'll always be there to catch you."_

_ She was at a lost for words at this point. She could only exchange smiles with him and she hoped that she wasn't blushing._

_ Whatever moment there was was swiftly dismantled as the others arrived. "Hey Mai!" Tea waved wildly. "You alright?"_

_ "Yeah, I'm fine now." She shot Joey a sideways glance, wondering why she was feeling so giddy in his presence._

_ "You'll do great out there!" Serenity exclaimed, clapping her hands. "You can do it. I can't wait to see you beat Joey in the tournament!"_

_ "Wait," Joey sputtered indignantly. "Who's side are you on?"_

_ "Mine apparently," she teased, nudging him in the side._

_ "Thanks, you too," he grumbled. "Now come on Mai, let's get this show on the road, shall we?"_

_ "Yeah."_

_.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

". . .And the winner by default is Ms. Mai Valentine!" Mai heard the words of Roland, Kaiba's second hand man ring faintly in her ears. Her vision began to clear and she saw that she was standing upright, yet the last thing she remembered was collapsing when the lightning struck. She swayed a bit as she collected her bearings.

"I. . I won?" she inquired, before noticing the unconscious body of her opponent a short distance away. "Oh. . ." she murmured. She took a couple of steps forward to tend to him; even if he did just try to blast her with some ancient Egyptian God, nobody deserves to be struck by lightning. "Hey, are you alright?" She asked him, but there was no response.

"Mai!" Joey ran up to her and she was flooded with memories from her subconscious. He looked so concerned for her, face filled with worry. He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Are you alright? You aren't hurt, are you?"

Mai felt an unexpected flutter in her chest. _"It was just a dream,"_ she thought to herself. _"So why was it making me feel this strange?" _She steeled herself. _"He's just a friend, that's it. Just a _friend_._

"I'm fine really. I mean, I'm pretty sure that my Duel Disk and cell phone are now completely fried, but other than that, I'm perfectly A-ok." She gently removed his hands from her shoulders by the wrists. "But he's not isn't he?"

"No, he muttered something about not being the real Ishtar then collapsed again. Then the real Marik, who called himself "Namu" by the way, turned into some murderous psychopath and practically skipped off into the sunset. That guy's one crayon short of the box and I'm pretty sure it's the red one, the way he was looking at poor um. . .Rishid I think his name is."

"That's a shame," Mai remarked. "About Rishid, I mean."

"Yeah, I figured. You should go to the doctor, just in case. To um, make sure you're alright."

"If it makes you feel any better," she replied. "But I'm telling you, there's nothing wrong."

"I'd feel better if a doctor said it."

She shot him a frosty glance. "You're stubborn, aren't you?"

He shot her an equally cool stare. "I could say the same thing about you."

"Touche."

Joey slid off the platform easily, giving Mai a hand as she stepped down. "You good?"

"I'm fine, Joseph, really." Mai noted that she was standing rather close to him. Quite close. The two of them were separated by only a couple of feet. Mai hastily slid her hands from his grip. "But. . .but thanks anyway."

He shrugged. "It's nothing. It's what friends do."

Meanwhile, _Yami_ Yugi and Tea had been at the doorway that lead to the inner workings of the Kaiba Corp blimp. "I swear, I think I'm going to lock those two in a closet once this whole thing blows over," Tea began, sighing and shaking her head.

"Locking them in in a closet seems rather extreme," _Yami _Yugi said.

"It's only extreme if it isn't necessary. In this case, it is not extreme and therefore a necessity," Tea countered.

Despite the severity of the situation, _Yami_ Yugi chuckled under his breath. "I pity anybody who ever plays a game against you."

"Damn straight." She paused and massaged the temples of her forehead. "Sorry. I need to get some more female friends."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

She stormed down the hallway, frantic. "This wasn't supposed to happen," she muttered to herself, keeping her eyes downcast in an attempt to remain a low profile, hands clenched tightly. They mustn't know that she was here, not yet at least. She heard the Pharaoh and his companions standing about the comatose body of her adopted brother, but she ignored it, despite the sight of it hurting her deeply. No, she had to think of the bigger things. She would have time to mourn later.

She caught sight of him at last, entering a key code on a door. "Seto Kaiba." He stopped from his typing and looked up.

"Who exactly might you be?" he asked harshly. The woman's eyes were a warm shade of blue, like that of a tropical ocean. Her gaze was narrowed; displeasure and panic radiated off of her in waves.

"You know exactly who I am," she replied rather brusquely.

"Do I?" Her voice did sound familiar, Seto admitted to himself. She elegantly pulled the scarf away from her face, revealing her features. "I should hope so."

"It's you," Seto nearly spat. Surprise crossed his face but only for a moment as he quickly repressed it. "You're the eighth duelist."

Ishizu crossed her arms, frowning. "Indeed."

"So, you came to tell me this?" He scowled.

"I decided to come for my own reasons," she answered. "Something terrible has happened."

"If you're going to spout nonsense about destiny and that crap, I'm not interested. I'm already annoyed that you showed up." He turned his back to her and began to stride away, his boots clicking on the floor, the sound echoing in the hall.

Ishizu made an exasperated noise and reached out, forcibly grasping his forearm before he went any further.

"Unhand me!" he growled, jerking his arm away but she held fast.

"You listen to me Seto and you listen to me _now_," she said, voice low and angry. "The future has changed, its course altered forever and we cannot go back. You need to stop this tournament right away before it gets any worse. People are in _danger._"

Seto yanked his forearm away from her grip, rubbing it absently. "I'm not going to end this tournament based on some bad dream you had. I will not cater to your whims."

"That's what started this whole thing, catering to my whims," she countered almost slyly. "If you don't do anything now, it's going to get much worse."

"Whatever," Seto huffed, tossing his head.

Ishizu opened her mouth to say something, but rolled her eyes and stormed off, her headscarf flowing behind in her wake.

Curious, he watched her until she was out of view. He leaned against the wall, feeling rather confused and excited all at once. He rather enjoyed watching her get angry. He coughed, getting such errant thoughts out of his head and heading towards the dining hall, where the next duels were to be announced.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Mai sat on the edge of the bed impatiently, legs swinging off the edge as the ship's doctor placed a stethoscope on her wrist, checking her pulse. "Am I free to go now?" she asked tersely. "I said I was perfectly fine." she shot a pointed look at Joey.

"One last second," the doctor replied absently, looking at his watch to measure her heart rate. "There, you are perfectly healthy and free to go."

"I told you," Mai said to Joey. He rolled his eyes in response.

"I'm glad you woke up," Serenity interceded before Joey could protest her claim. "We were worried that you wouldn't."

"Yeah, it was weird though," Mai ran her fingers through her hair. "Like, I guess when I was out, I had this dream. You guys were there and yeah. . .I'm not really sure either." She finished weakly with a shrug.

_"Would the duelists please report to the dining hall?" _Roland's voice rumbled over the PSA, interrupting them.

"Guess we better get going then," Mai said, peering up at the speaker in the corner of the ceiling. "Before Kaiba decides to disqualify everybody for being three seconds late."

As they exited the room, Mai felt someone grabbed her wrist. From the corner of her eye, she saw that it was Joey.

"Hey," he began awkwardly.

"Hey."

"I'm. . .I'm glad you're alright," he added sheepishly, unable to lock gazes with her, like he was embarrassed about something.

"Thank you."

"I um. . .I got a question for you. . ."

This piqued Mai's curiosity. "Go on. . ."

"You mentioned that you had a dream and that you said that we were there. . ." He paused, looking down and away from her. "Was—was I there too?"

Mai's mind went blank at the question. If she said yes, he would probably get the wrong idea, especially in front of everybody. "I uh. . .well, you know how dreams are. It was kind of vague and and foggy and. . .I'm sorry Joey, but I don't recall seeing you there. You understand, right?"

Mai swore she saw his face fall, his brown eyes a little duller. "Yeah, I understand," he laughed meekly, rubbing the back of his head. "Stuff happens." he began to walk out. "See you in the dining hall."

"I. . ." Mai trailed off, one arm holding the other as she contemplated what she had done. She inhaled sharply and straightened herself up, striding out of the room, radiating false confidence.

Tea was standing there next to the door frame when Mai exited. Tea looked rather annoyed for some reason. "That wasn't very nice," she said, clasping Mai's wrist, stopping the older woman in her tracks.

"What wasn't?" Mai asked, but she had the nagging sense that she already knew the answer.

"Lying to Joey like that. I think you upset him. A _lot_." she emphasized.

"I didn't want to give him the wrong idea," Mai explained hastily, but the claim seemed to ring hollow and false in her ears.

"I didn't realize that there was a wrong idea to give," Tea argued. "Unless you thought of it." Upon Mai's confusion, she added. "You should go apologize to him. He thinks of you as his closest friend you know." Tea walked away, leaving Mai alone in the hallway, thinking.

** *hears the anguished sounds of the polar fans in the distance* **

** *dodges flying fruit***

** In my defense, it was cute and shippy in the beginning of the chapter, before it went straight to the land of angst. Also it will probably get worse.**

** A whole lot worse.**

** "Half Life": by Imogen Heap**

** Many thanks for my friend Bara for recommending it for me.**


	3. Chapter 3: Hero

Chapter 3: Hero

Mai stood off to one side standoffish , watching Yugi and the others mingled in the dining hall. The crowd seemed to be getting smaller and smaller with each duel and it worried her a bit. There were only a quartet of duelists left, one of which being the sociopath that was once Marik and the other being Joey. She worried little about Kaiba; in fact she was growing quite a distaste for the man, especially when it came to his callousness and rude nature. As for the eighth duelist, Mai had no idea who they were, so why fret about someone you didn't know?

"Could everybody gather around?" Roland coughed, one hand resting on the Blue Eyes bingo Machine. Thankfully it wasn't so loud in the hall that he had to raise his voice. It grew strangely quiet and Roland continued. "Yes, er. We will be drawing the lot for the next duel!" The machine rumbled to life, spitting out two numbers. Roland reached in, plucking a number from one of the mouths. "The first number is number two, Mr. Joseph Wheeler!

"Eh heh!" Joey high fived Tristan and Yugi, before accidentally locking eyes with Mai. She coughed and turned away hastily, a twinge of guilt in her chest. He looked away as well, before adding. "Looks like I'll be seeing you in the finals Yuge!"

"Don't get too ahead of yourself Joey," _Yami _Yugi chuckled in warning.

Mai began to fret for some unknown reason. Now there was a one-in-three chance that his opponent could be the sociopath—Kaiba or Marik—pick your poison. She stopped herself suddenly. _"Why am I so worried about him?" _She asked herself. _"He can take care of himself." _Once again, the dream reared its ugly, yet lovely head and she inhaled deeply, clearing her head. _"Now was not the time to think of such childish, wistful notions" _she chided. _"You came here for a reason and that was to win. You can think of that later."_

"And the second duelist will be number five, Marik Ishtar!"

Her heart sank.

"Whoa, wait a minute," Tristan argued. "He lied about his name. Shouldn't he be disqualified or something?"

"Yeah, I totally agree with that!" Joey added.

"Hmph. I didn't realize that you were that big of a coward to resort to technicalities to win," Kaiba sneered.

Joey growled under his breath before speaking. "Fine. You know what, I'll duel his creepy little ass and win that God card right under your nose!"

"Good luck with that," Kaiba dismissively waved a hand before sauntering off, towards the elevator that lead to the field.

"I'm going to win this whole thing, just to prove a point," he grumbled, shaking a clenched fist at the back of the retreating figure. He crossed his arms, fuming."I ain't some no name duelist."

"We know that," Serenity said in an effort to cheer him up. "You got second place in Duelist Kingdom."

Joey bit his lip. "I guess. . ."

"Then go out there and prove them all wrong!"

Whatever displeasure mood Joey had had evaporated, "Yeah. . .I will show all of them who's number one!"

Tristan punched him playfully in the arm. "There you go!"

Mai hung back a few feet behind them as they left the hall for the elevator, feelings of guilt still plaguing at her. She coughed to get the attention of Joey, who was towards the rear of their group. He stopped and turned about. "Hey," he waved, plastering a fake, cheery smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Hey, I uh. . ." Mai bit her lip, thinking. "I just wanted to wish you the best of luck."

"Um, thanks." He paused "See you in the semi-finals?"

"Yeah, see you on the other side."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The air was crisp, a breeze whistling through the crevices of the platform when Joey stepped on it. He shivered, wishing he had brought his jean jacket. He looked upwards, at the multitude of stars above. It was harder to see them from the city due to the light pollution but here, the stars were out by the thousands. He inhaled deeply, centering himself for the duel. Marik was tricky and devious, probably impulsive in his dueling strategy as well. He saw the sight of his friends and sister to his left, cheering and whistling for him. He felt buoyant in that moment and he flashed them a thumbs up. Mai gave a thumbs-up as well, an almost guilty smile on her lips. Joey turned away, facing straight, trying to ignore the pain in his chest. It was obvious that she didn't care for him like he though she did.

_ "Guess I was just too stupid to believe otherwise,"_ he thought.

Marik stepped onto the platform shortly thereafter, that manic look in his eye even more evident than before. His hair was wild, whipping in some non existent breeze, as the wind seemed to have vanished entirely, the air even colder than before. The Millennium Rod was stashed in a belt loop at his side and now he was wearing a cape. _"Where did he get that cape is what I wanna know."_

"Well, well, well, it would seem that the disobedient child has come home to roost." Marik laughed. "I'm going to love ripping you apart. Nobody gets to beat the Millennium Rod twice," his hand went to the Rod.

"There's always a first time."

"Would the duelists please exchange decks and shuffle them." Roland cringed as both men shot him a dirty look. "I'm just relaying the rules," he added apologetically.

They walked to the center of the field, their decks in hand. Impatiently, Joey snatched Marik's deck from him and began to angrily shuffle for a few seconds. Almost childlike did Marik hand his over. Joey grumbled under his breath as he yanked his deck from Marik's open palm, stomping away.

"Duel!"

"Perhaps you should go first," Marik offered with a wave. "How does the saying go?" He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Losers first, right?"

"More like winners!" Joey countered cockily. "I place Flame Swordsmen in attack mode and two face down cards!"

"Pitiful first move," Marik remarked scornfully. "I play my Revival Jam in defense mode and place the Magic card, Jam Breeding Machine, which allows me to summon one Slime Token per turn."

"Said the pot calling the kettle black," Joey sniffed. "Flame Swordsmen, slice through that little wad of snot!" Flame Swordsmen charged Revival Jam, cleaving it in two. The smug look on Joey's face quickly disappeared when Revival Jam joined back together, undamaged and whole. His face went blank. "What the?-"

Marik clapped his hands. "Oh, this is going to be so much more fun than I expected!"

"Shut your mouth!" Joey hissed. "I play one more card face down and end my turn.

"Joey's losing his cool," Tristan said worriedly. "He never does it this early in a duel."

"What is Marik planning?" Mai asked YamiYugi. "Is he just creating a shield or something else?"

"Yes he is using it as a shield, but he's also delaying the inevitable."

Mai jumped to the conclusion. "Using the tokens to summon Ra."

"Precisely."

"I play my Pot of Greed, and since I'm quite positive you know what it does," Marik drew two cards from his deck. "I place one card and end my turn." As he finished, the Jam Breeding Machine, which looked to be an aesthetic cross between cyberpunk and Lovecraftian mythos, spat out a small, translucent blob which hovered weakly in the air.

Joey angrily drew a card, thinking. _"What is this nutjob planning? Why have all these weak monsters on the field—Oh." _He stopped. Marik already had two monsters on the field, with Jam Breeding Machine churning out more with each turn. _"He's tryin' to summon Ra right off the bat. Well, we gotta put a stop to that don't we?"_ He looked down at the card he just drew. It was Giant Trunade. "First I play Alligator Sword in attack mode, then I activate Giant Trunade, which wipes out all of your Trap and Magic cards! Booyah!" A typhoon swept through the field, taking up Marik's face down card and the Jam Breeding Machine with it. "In your face, you freak! Flame Swordsmen, take out Slime Token now!" This time, flame Swordsmen attack was successful and Marik snarled as his Life Points went from 4000 to 2700.

"Nice job!" Tea cheered.

"He figured it out quicker than I did," YamiYugi said admiringly. "Excellent job."

"Looks like the brat actually has a set on him after all. But you know what? What fun is a game if there aren't any stakes?" Marik reached for his Rod, brandishing it in the air. "Let's kick it up a notch, shall we?" The Rod glowed gold and the area dropped in temperature drastically, the air still and stifling. Shadows writhed and grew about Marik's presence like living being, before shooting forward and blanketing the field in oily looking shadows the shades of violet, black and blood red.

Joey looked frantically about in the fog. "What's going on, Marik? Explain yourself!"

"This, my dear boy, is only the beginning. We are entering a Shadow Game like none that you've faced. The loser well," Marik chuckled. "The loser gets his soul ripped out of him and sent to the Shadow Realm! That's not all though," Marik laughed insanely, tossing his head back "But it wouldn't be very nice of me to spoil it for you, now would it?"

"Marik!" Yami Yugi roared, eyes narrowed. "End this madness right now! He did nothing to you to deserve this!"

Marik tilted his head to one side like a marionette, the whites about his eyes visible."On the contrary, he deserves every bit of what I'm going to inflict on him. Nobody defies the power of the Rod and gets away from it. But don't worry _Pharaoh_," he said disdainfully, "You'll be joining him shortly."

Marik directed his attention back to Joey. "Now _boy_, where were we? Ah yes. . .let the _real _games begin!"

"Joey, be careful!" Mai called out.

"I'll be fine!"

Mai frowned. "Fine, be like that! We're just supporting you, you idiot!"

"If you're done with your lover's spat," Marik twiddled his fingers, "I summon Melchid the Four Faced Beast!" The monster reminded Joey of a jar, with red and yellow masks on four sides. "Then I sacrifice Melchid and my Revival Jam to summon Masked Beast Des Gradius!" It was a hideous thing, with thick claws and muscular limbs. Blue masks were built into its torso as well as having one for a face. "Attack his Alligator Sword!"

"You just fell into my trap, you dick! Activate Skull Dice!" Joey smirked. "Let's see what Lady Luck has in store for us shall we?" The red dice rolled on the floor, before landing on a three. "Yes! Masked Beast Des Gradius gets it's attack points by three!" The 3300 Attack Points of Masked Beast were sliced in thirds to 1100. "Finish him off Alligator Sword!" Masked Beast screamed in misery as Alligator Sword ran him through. It exploded on impact, dropping Marik's points by another 400, to 2300.

As the dust cleared, a mask of gold and red shot out, latching onto Alligator Sword's muzzle. It writhed, trying to pulling the smothering object off. The mask went back to Marik's side, dragging Alligator Sword with it. "What's this?"

"You activated the ability of Masked Beast," Marik crowed. "When it's destroyed, I can play "Mask of Remnants, which latches on the monster that killed it, then I get to control it!" Joey frowned. "And I end my turn," Marik said.

"My move. I set two card face down. Flame Swordsmen, attack Alligator Sword!" The two warrior monsters dueled with the blades before Flame Swordsmen disarmed and gutted it. When he did so, a faint wispy cloud appeared over it.

Marik laughed. "And now you get to see firsthand what this Shadow Game is really about! Whenever one of our monsters is destroyed, the memories of one of your friends is wiped from your mind. So lets see who the unlucky customer is today, hmmm?"

"You can't do that!" Joey shouted. "That's not right!"

"A lot of things aren't right today, but we can't change it," Marik shrugged. The image coalesced into one of Tristan. "Ooh, Tristan is his name, right?" At Joey's stunned silence, he continued, "Say goodbye to your little friend!" Joey reached out as the image shattered into nothing. He staggered, before sinking to his knees. The empty gaze was more than enough for Marik, who laughed like a hyena.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's not like you realized what happened anyway."

"What?" Joey asked blankly, staggering upright.

"Marik!" _Yami _Yugi was furious. "How _dare_ you tamper with someone's mind like that! You end this madness right now!"

"I could, but it's just too much fun!" Marik cackled.

Serenity let out a choked sob, burying her face into Mai's side. "He's gonna be alright, isn't he? He's gonna be alright, right?"

"Joey's going to be alright, I promise," she whispered soothingly, stroking her hair.

"My move! I summon Makyura the Destroyer in attack mode and equip Black Pendant to it! Makyura wipe out his Swordsmen and another one of his memories!"

"Not so fast! I play Kunai with Chain, which forces Makyura back into defense mode!"

"Remove Trap!"

"No!" The bladed chain in Flame Swordsmen's hand vanished, leaving him vulnerable to Makyura's attack. Makyura gutted him easily, Joey dropping in Points from 4000 to 3700.

"Let's see who the memory is this time!" Marik laughed. Joey watched in horror as he saw the ghostly image of Mai.

"No," Joey begged, hand outstretched. "Please no. Please, anyone but her!" He wailed, tears leaking from his eyes.

"This is going to be even more fun than I thought! Say goodbye to your lover _forever_!"

"Nooo!" He cried out like his heart was getting ripped out from his chest. He moaned, sinking to his head and knees, tears dripping onto the field.

Mai grew furious, seeing Joey in his broken state, on his hands on knees, eyes blank as the lively spark that defined his character was gone. "You bastard!" She screamed at Marik. "How could you?"

"It's the price you pay for playing with the big boys. Maybe he should have stuck to the kiddie duels, like Duelist Kingdom," Marik shrugged. "I've never had this much fun in a long time! Look at him so helplessly lost. I've already won the duel and I haven't even summoned the god card yet!"

"Joey! Joey get up and finish him off!"

Joey paused, looking out. He heard a voice, a woman's voice, shouting his name, yet he saw no one he recognized. It certainly wasn't Tea nor Serenity who had that tone and timbre. _"So who is she? I hope she's not a ghost."_ he shuddered. _"I don't really like ghosts. She sounds beautiful though."_

_"Yami, we need to do something about this,"_ Yugi thought.

_"I think so too,"_ The Millennium Puzzle flared to life, briefly banishing the darkness.

Joey felt the presence of something inside his head. The duel fell away in his mind's eye.

_He was standing alone in an empty space, occupied only by the shadows that swirled around him. He tripped and stumbled about, hands waving wildly in front of him as he attempted to make his way through, whatever this place was. He caught sight of something far away, a man, with arms crossed and laughing at him. Joey wanted nothing more then to choke the hideous, high-pitched laughter out of him but the problem would be to reach him. He floundered about in the dark, until he felt the warmth of light on his back, the light casting shadows in front of. He looked over his shoulder to find Yugi there, cupping the Puzzle in one hand._

_ "Joey," he spoke, the tone imperious and ringing throughout the battlefield. "Stand up, Joey."_

_ Wordlessly, he stood up. "Pharaoh, what are you doing here?"_

_ "That, is an excellent question." The other man stepped from the shadows, lavender eyes narrowed with displeasure. "You shouldn't interfere with this game, _Pharaoh._"_

_ "I have every right to. He is my friend." The Puzzle flared brighter. "And I will defend him from your evil machinations!"_

_ Marik recoiled as parts of his skin burned from the rays, pieces of his flesh sloughing off. He waved his cloak about him and he dissolved with the shadows, leaving the Pharaoh and Joey alone._

_ "You mustn't give in to the darkness," the Pharaoh told him, "You are much stronger than you believe."_

_ "But, but I keep hearing voices," Joey said, almost fearfully. "One of them, she's a lady."_

_ "Those voices are your friends, memories of those Marik has taken from you," the Pharaoh explained. "They are there to encourage you to victory. Trust them."_

_ "Okay. . ."Joey agreed skeptically. "I believe you."_

_ "Then go and win the duel, and regain what you have lost."_

The vision faded as quickly as it came and Joey staggered upright, a renewed fire in his eyes. "I'm not going to let you take any more of my friends _Marik_! I summon Panther Warrior in attack mode! Then I play Scapegoats and I finish with a card face down! Your move, ya sleaze!"

"I summon my Drillago in attack mode. Makyura, destroy Panther Warrior."

"Activate Magic Arm Shield! Take his Drillago and use it as a shield!"

"What?"

"Should I explain, or would you like to see a demonstration?" Joey sneered. Drillago protested as the clamps of Magic Arm Shield dragged him to the other side, just in time for Makyura to gut it. Marik hissed in frustration as his points dropped by 500 to 1800.

Joey watched an image of a man with multiple piercings hovered over Marik's head dissolve in an instant. "You lose one of your memories too!"

Instead of watching Marik fret and worry, Marik merely shrugged, rather apathetic towards the whole thing. "The memories in my head, they aren't worth much anyway, so I must thank you for cleaning it up for me. I would have hated to do it myself."

"Grrrr," Joey growled. "I play my Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack mode! Then I play the equip card Legendary Sword, which I equip to my Panther Warrior and increase his points by 300. Next I activate Panther Warrior's ability, which requires me to sacrifice one monster for him to attack and I use one of my Scapegoats for that. Panther Warrior, attack his Makyura the Destroyer! Then I'll finish you off with Gearfried and win back my memories!"

Marik said nothing as Panther Warrior sliced through his Makyura the Destroyer, leaving him with only 1600. Another memory vanished, one of a man in a mask, but again, Marik showed little concern for it. "Hm, I don't think you should have done that." he tsked, wiggling a finger mockingly.

"What do you mean—why did my Life Points go down?" The counter on his Disk ticked away from 3700 to 3200.

"When Black Pendant is destroyed or sent to the Graveyard, you lose 500 points."

Joey shrugged his shoulders. "500 is nothin' when I finish you off. Go Gearfried!"

"Nightmare Wheel! Thanks to you destroying Makyura, I can play a trap card from my hand to field and I target Gearfried." Joey watched helplessly as Gearfried was strapped on to a wheel studded with spikes. "Now for every turn Gearfried's on there, you lose 500 points." Joey's points ticked away once again, down to 2700.

"I end my turn." Joey grumbled.

"You're doing great Joey!" Mai cheered. "Just one more attack and he's through!"

_"There's that voice again,"_ Joey thought, almost dreamily, looking out to where his friends were. _"That beautiful, familiar voice, cheering me on. Wish I could remember who she was though. . ."_

"Good, because it's about to get much worse, _boy_." Marik drew a card and his eyes lit up. _"Oh yes, it's about to get much worse here. _I summon Holding Arms to attack your Panther Warrior."

"Psh, as if, that thing's only got 500 Attack Points!" Joey scoffed, but whatever taunts he had on his lips died as Holding Arms latched onto Panther Warrior, restraining its wrists.

"Holding Arms cannot be destroyed in battle," Marik explained slowly, as if he were speaking to a child. "Nor do I lose any Life Points in the process. Oh, and one more thing,"Marik trailed off. "Your Panther Warrior cannot attack me either."

"Fine," Joey drew a card, studying it. It was Card Destruction. It would be useful, Joey admitted to himself, but how? Then he remembered the manic light in Marik's eyes and a strategy began to formulate in his mind. _"If I can get him to discard the Winged Dragon of Ra, then steal it from him using Graverobber, then I can use it against him!_" He giggled. _"Now, all I got to do is believe in the Heart of the Cards._ Activate Card Destruction and now you have to discard your hand! For the record, you have a really crappy poker face, so say good bye to your Winged Dragon of Ra." Joey stashed his hand in the graveyard, drawing the same amount of cards. _"Yes!" _It worked, for he drew Warrior Returning Arrive and Hayabusa Knight. "This is gonna be good," he cackled. "First I summon my Hayabusa Knight and then I activate Graverobber, which steals one card from your graveyard and I choose Winged Dragon of Ra."

"How did he-?" Marik panicked, taken aback.

"Really. Bad. Poker. Face." Joey reminded him, shaking his head. "Finally, I play The Warrior Returning Alive, which summons one monster back from the Graveyard back to the field and I choose Flame Swordsmen!"

"Yes, Joey has three monsters on the field," Mai laughed. "He's going to summon Ra and win the duel!"

_"Yeah, I'm gonna do it," _Joey thought upon hearing that voice. _"I'm doing it for you. Maybe I'll be able to see your face once it's over and I can remember you again."_

Serenity clapped excitedly. "You go Joey!"

"I sacrifice all three of my monsters to summon Winged Dragon of Ra!" All three monsters vanished, their life essences leaving their forms and joining together into a beam of light. The light shot into the playing field where Joey slapped down the Winged Dragon of Ra. The shadows began to part as beams of warm golden light shot through them.

"I can't believe he's gonna do it," Mokuba told Seto, fully impressed with Joey's efforts. "He's actually going to use the God Card."

"Hmph," Seto snorted. "He maybe able to summon it, but will he be able to use it is the question. I highly doubt that he will though."

"But he could," Mokuba argued.

"Mokuba, get the satellites to take as many pictures of that card as you can then upload it to our computers.

"Alright!" Mokuba ran off, leaving Seto alone.

Seto said nothing in reply, facing the field. "Show me the God Card, Wheeler. Show it to me."

Joey looked upward, face full of hope as light shone down all about him. "I'm doing it. I'm summoning Ra! I'm summoning—what?" His face fell as he caught the sight of what fell from the sky. "Why is there a damn glowing soccer ball floating in the sky?"

Marik began to chuckle, then laugh manically, tossing his head back. In between bouts of laughter, be gasped, "Maybe you should take a look at the card on the disk."

Joey looked down at the script underneath the card. "It's in pictures!" He cried out, confused.

"Correction, Hieratic Text," Marik replied condescendingly. "Only those who can read the Text can control the card!"

"That's cheating!" Joey protested. "They weren't there before I played it!"

"It was a measure built in by Pegasus himself to prevent those who were unworthy from abusing its power. In fact, there are quite a few people on this blimp that can read it, the _Pharaoh _being one of them and Seto being the other one."

"Marik this isn't funny any more!" YamiYugi shouted. I'm the one you have the grudge against! Not him!"

"True, but he's so much fun to toy with! Look at him!" Marik gestured to Joey, looking exhausted on the other side. First, I play my monster Holding Legs in attack mode. Thanks to its ability, I send all your magic and trap cards to your hand. And then, I can summon Stone of Ojhat from my deck! Joey looked behind as a stone slab inscribed in hieroglyphics emerged. "Now My Holding Arms and Legs, attack him now!"

Joey flinched as the chains clamped about his wrists and then his ankles. "Let go of me!" Joey snarled, struggling to get free. He fell backwards as the chains stuck themselves to the stone, leaving him hanging there off the stone like a scarecrow. "Let me go you freak! You spiky haired freaky bastard!" he spat.

"I don't really appreciate that impudence," Marik chided. "Holding Arms and Holding Legs, attack his life points directly!" Joey screamed in agony, back arching as his Life Points dropped from 2700 to 1400. The cards in his hand slipped out of his grasp, floating to the floor. Joey sagged forward, ankles and wrists crying out in agony. "And now the finale! Say goodbye to your friend, _Pharaoh_!" Marik began to chant:

_"Great Beast of the Sky, _

_ Hear my Cry. _

_ Transform thyself from Orb of light, _

_ And bring me victory in this fight. _

_ Envelop the desert with your glow _

_ And put your rage upon my bow. _

_ Unlock your powers from deep within, _

_ So that together, we may win. _

_ Appear in the Shadow Game as I call your name! _

_ Winged Dragon of Ra!"_

The orb in the sky began to shift, pieced extending outwards like a giant puzzle. Beams of light shot through the gaps. Joey looked upward just in time for the final step of the process, the body flexing into shape, those otherworldly eyes locking gazes with him. He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. _"I'm sorry Pharaoh. I'm sorry that I failed you, all of you guys."_

"No!" The scream ripped from her throat unconsciously. Mai shoved Yami Yugi and Duke aside, making a one handed leap onto the dueling platform.

Roland shot a fearful glance to Kaiba. "Should I. . ." he began to ask, but was silenced by a withering stare from Kaiba. "Never mind. . ."

"Mai, be careful!" Tea called out.

Mai ran across the field, hair streaming behind her. She slowed to a stop in front of Joey. She cupped his face with her hands. "Come on Joey. Wake up. We gotta get you out of here!" She patted his left cheek in an effort to stir him but there was little response.

He glanced upwards, his eyes dull and lifeless. "What. . .who's there?"

"It's me Joseph, it's me, Mai. Come on, please snap out of it!"

"That voice," Joey murmured, "That beautiful voice. . .so familiar. . ."

"Please Joseph!" Mai begged. "Please." she inhaled sharply, tears threatening to spring forth. "Joseph, I'm so sorry!"

"Sorry?. . ." he asked blankly. "Sorry. . .for what?"

"I lied, Joseph, I lied to you," she sobbed. "When I had that dream, I lied. I said I couldn't remember whether you were there and I lied! I was so ashamed. . .you were there Joseph. You were there the whole time. You're my closest friend!"

Mai's heart sprang to her throat as she saw the spark of recognition in his eyes. "Friend?. . .Dream?" Joey's eyes flickered to life. Wait, there was someone there," he could tell. Somebody was there, standing in front of him. . .touching his face. He felt the cool flesh of fingertips on his cheeks, the exquisitely soft skin cupping his face. "My friend?. . ."

"Yes, Joseph, you're my closest friend, my _best_ friend. You're always there for me and I'll always be there for you. It's me, Mai."

He saw the twinkle of violet eyes at first, the rest of her facial features following shortly thereafter. "Mai. . Mai, is that you?"

"Yes Joey! It's me!" She laughed with relief, a tear running down her cheek.

Marik was stunned. "How? How did she break the Shadow Game? Nobody can!" He growled. "No matter, I'll destroy both of the little _lovers_. Ra, attack Wheeler's Life Points directly!"

"Mai!" behind her, he caught the glimpse of Ra preparing its attack. "You need to get out of here! He's going to kill you with Ra!"

"I'm not leaving without you!" Mai began to tug on the chains, but they refused to budge. "These chains, they're so bloody tight."

"Go Mai!" Joey shouted, "Please go!"

"Like hell I'm leaving you to die here!" Mai planted her feet squarely, her hands just above his shoulders, effectively turning herself into a human shield as she braced for the blast from Ra. "Not this time!"

Joey opened his mouth to protest her decision but decided against it, his head sagging. "Thank you," he said softly, so that only she could hear. "You're the best friend a guy could ever have."

"Don't mention it," Mai joked weakly. She reached out with her left hand, tilting his face up. "Now look at me, and don't pay attention to Ra." Her face softened. "It'll be alright, I promise." Joey nodded, locking gazes. She was beautiful, he thought to himself, even if she was on the verge of breaking down in tears. He wanted to wipe away her tears, not wanting to see her cry. He was going to be strong but she was more than strong enough for both of them. She was the bravest person he had the pleasure to meet.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"No!" YamiYugi sprang onto the field, his back turned to Marik as he took the brunt of the blast. Joey failed to feel the heat, so intent on keeping his gaze with hers.

"Yugi!" Mai shouted, noticing his presence at last.

"Your game. . ." YamiYugi roared over the blaze. "Is. . .over!" When the attack was over at last, _Yami _Yugi took a few steps forward, before sinking to his knees and falling unconscious.

The stone of Ojhat and the chains faded and he collapsed into her arms. "I got you Joseph," she whispered tenderly as she got down on her knees, easing his fall to the earth. "I got you."

"And the winner of this duel is Marik Ishtar!" Roland shouted, shattering the unearthly still that fell over the field.

Mai could hear Marik's footsteps behind her, pausing only to nudge the unconscious YamiYugi callously aside with a foot. "I'm here to claim to claim my prize," Marik sneered at her.

"I'm not moving," Mai growled, her hands clutching his shirt just a little tighter.

"I said-," Marik grabbed her shoulder, his fingernails digging into her flesh. She cried out as he managed to draw blood, "-Move!" He forcibly flung her aside, into the railing where the middle struck the middle of her spine. She began to go back to him when she heard the subtle hiss of metal being drawn. There had been a dagger hidden in the shaft of the Millennium Rod the entire time, and he was brandishing it at her throat, the tip just barely touching her jugular artery.

"Leave her alone!" Joey shouted. "It's me you want!"

Marik smirked, pulling the knife away from her bare neck. He sheathed the knife back into the shaft. The head of the Rod began to glow ominously. "You're right," he began, tilting his head to one side, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins. "It _is_ you I want. It's time to pay the price for this Shadow Game!" The Rod flared to life, enveloping the entire battlefield.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_Joey found himself chained to a board, his hands strapped above him. Shadows swirled and danced about him, the sound the wailing wind in his ears. The board dangled from another, larger chain of bronze, the links soaring skyward to places unknown. He took a curious glimpse downward to find a pool of bubbling liquid under his feet two feet away. The liquid reminded him of oil slicks on water, of all the colors of the rainbow. This was the color of blood red, black, and a vile shade of purple._

_ He found Marik standing at the edge of the pool, hands interlaced behind his back. "Hello there,"_ _Marik laughed, "So nice to see you here."_

_ "Go to hell!" Joey snarled, snorting his nose. He then spat, sending a globule of saliva and mucus dribbling down Marik's chest._

_ Marik looked down at the offending saliva, before using the hem of his cape to wipe it away. "A feisty one, aren't you? This is going to be _particularly _fun."_

_ "What's the meaning of this?" Joey asked, looking up at the chain._

_ "The meaning of this Penalty? I'm glad you asked," Marik cracked his knuckles. "You see, the liquid underneath you is designed for one purpose: the corruption of memories. Every success you have achieved in life will be corrupted into failures, just like what you are in real life. You are a failure, a boy masquerading a something he is not. The deeper you plunge into the pool, the more memories will be corrupted to the point that they would be deemed unrecognizable! By the time your precious friends will save you, it will be too late! That is, if you even see them as friends any more." Marik turned his back on Joey and began to walk away. "Have fun!"_

_ Joey watched in horror as the bronze chain creaked and groaned slowly. The board inched ever so slowly towards the bubbling, roiling liquid. Joey tried swinging the board he was chained to, hoping that he would be able to delay it a little longer but his efforts were in vain._

_ His screams of agony and pleas of mercy were like music to Marik's ears._

** Okay, I think that this Shadow Game is worse than Mai's was in the original. . .I should probably not be allowed to write Y. Marik _ever again_.**

** "Hero": Skillet**


	4. Chapter 4: It Was Always You

Chapter 4: It Was Always You

** I apologize for the heartache and feels. But it gets worse, so um. . .WELP**

** Also, many _many_ thanks to a tumblr friend, kintastujo. I had sent a drawing request/suggestion to draw out this Battle City AU, because for the most part I was kind of stuck on how to write it. She did a lot of little scenes and she basically helped lay the groundwork for the fic. Some of the scenes and lines will be seen throughout the story are a direct result from kintatsujo's art. So many thanks hun! You were a _major_ help!**

Mai could dully hear the roar of the gears bringing the platform down, or was that the blood pounding in her ears? She couldn't tell. His body was so limp, so still. She felt a faint breeze on her cheek as Yugi and the others rushed to his side. The world came to a slow, like time itself had ceased to be. She stood up, her shoulder paining her just slightly as she leaned on the rail. Marik stood there, watching with an almost smug expression on his face, arms crossed and the Rod resting in his relaxed grip; he was _quite_ pleased with himself.

"You," she began, her voice low, as if she were restraining herself. Mai pointed at him. "You. You ruined _everything._"

Marik looked up, the corner of his mouth slightly upraised. "I'm only having a little fun-"

Mai decided that she had enough of his snide comments. In three long strides, she stormed across the field, her fists clenched. She swung with her right fist, haymaker style, striking Marik across the left side of his face, mainly in the mouth and face. "Give him back!" she sobbed. He tumbled backwards a few steps, his back and side striking the railing. Blood trickled from his nose and mouth. He wiped it away with the back of his hand, panting. Breathing heavily, her rage barely contained, Mai glanced down to find her white sleeve glove flecked with his blood and frowned in displeasure.

"Mai!" she could hear Tea's voice in her ears, bringing her back to reality. "He's not worth it!" Tea held onto her arm, just in case Mai thought of punching him again. "Marik isn't worth it."

"You hear me Marik?" Mai asked, her voice rising in volume. "Bring. Him. Back. Now."

"That is where you are mistaken, silly girl." Marik said scornfully. "The only way to bring somebody's soul back is for the creator of the Game itself to lose their own Shadow Game.

"Fine," Mai slid her deck into her duel disk. "Then duel me, right here, right now."

"You're friends are just gluttons for punishment, aren't they Pharaoh?" Marik taunted, eyes flickering to the barely upright Pharaoh.

"There will be no dueling here." Seto stepped onto the field, interceding between Mai and Marik. Mai shot Kaiba a dirty look before removing her deck, sliding it back into the holster on her thigh. Seto glanced coldly down at Joey's body, sprawled out on the field. Serenity was sobbing hysterically over him, shaking his prone form, trying to stir him back to consciousness. "And get him out of here. I have a duel to win and I don't appreciate _refuse_ littering my field."

"I'll show you refuse," Mai began, whirling to face Kaiba. "I've punched one man today. I don't mind punching a second, especially if he's an ass just like you."

Tea shook her head. "Mai, don't do it. Joey wouldn't want you to do this."

"Punch Kaiba? I bet he would."

"Please Mai. Not now. We need to take him to a doctor." Mai saw Tristan lifting Joey draping him over his shoulders like he weighed nothing more than a bag of potatoes. Tea could see the heartbreak in her friend's eyes and she stopped, sighing.

"Fine." She joined in the small procession, reaching out for Serenity's hand; heaven knows the girl needs all the support she can get right now.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Mai couldn't watch as the doctors hovered over him, checking his heart rate and placing electrodes on his face and torso. The latter didn't last long, as the doctors couldn't fathom why he slipped into a coma like state, whilst being perfectly healthy.

_"I could tell you,"_ she thought bitterly, as the doctors resigned Joey to his fate before leaving the room. He looked so pale and small in the blankets, the once healthy pallor to his skin gone, his eyes closed as if he were sleeping peacefully. The blanket was pulled up to his chest, his duel disk slipped off his arm and onto the nightstand next to him. She sat on the edge of the bed next to him, unable to look at him in this state, lest she break down in front of everybody and she wasn't about to do that. Not here, not now.

There were no more cheesy jokes, no more of his easy smiles and laughter. There was no twinkle in his eyes as he looked at her, hoping that she would join in on the merriment.

Just cold silence.

Mai inhaled deeply, steadying herself. "Joseph." She reached down, grabbing his hand through the blankets. "I'm going to get you back. I'm not going to stop nor rest until I do. Marik is going to have hell to pay and I'm going to be the one that sends him there."

"We. . .we are going to watch Kaiba's duel," Yami Yugi told her, hoping to divert her attention and grief, if only for a little while. "Would you care to join?"

Mai pondered it over for a moment. "I'll be there in a few."

"It's okay Mai," Serenity said. "I'll stay and watch over Joey." Serenity reached across and brushed a strand of hair from Joey's eyes. "He would do the same if it was the other way around."

"You sure?"

"I'm positive. I'm going to be strong for him." Serenity wiped her eyes and sniffled, steeling her resolve.

"I know you will," Mai smiled. "It must be a Wheeler thing."

"You bet it is."

"I'll be back later, okay kiddo?"

"Yeah."

She had only taken a few steps she she heard the gently "thump" of Serenity's chair hitting the nightstand. "Mai." She turned about to find her standing behind her with her arms crossed, studying Mai like a hawk.

"What is is Serenity?" Mai asked, a little unnerved by Serenity's unwavering gaze.

"You like him, don't you?"

Mai paused. That was a question she wasn't expecting. Not at this time and certainly not here. "As I friend, yes."

"I know that." Serenity countered sternly. "You _like_ him, don't you?"

Mai opened her mouth to answer but she stopped. _"No, no more lies,"_ she thought with a sudden realization, eyes flickering to the man on the bed. _"The time for denial is over._ I. . .yes. I do like him. A lot." What should have felt like a confession didn't, the words flowing out far easier than she expected. "I do have feelings for him."

Serenity gave her a knowing nod. "Then don't do anything stupid."

"What?"

"Bring him back so you can tell him that yourself."

Mai said nothing, nodding in reply. When Mai exited and closed the door behind her, she felt her knees begin to give way, exhaustion and grief finally taking its toll on her. Mai took only a few steps before falling, her right shoulder leaning against the wall as she sank down to her knees. A howl of grief ripped from her lips and the dam of emotions finally broke, overwhelming her. Tears flowed freely, ugly sobs wracking her body. "Why him?" She cried out, "Why him? He didn't do a _damn_ thing to deserve it! Why?" she wept, kneeling on the ground, head against the wall. "Not him. . ." The words gave away to a silent cry. Shortly thereafter, the tears refused to come as well. Absently she wiped away the tears from her eyes with her forearm, only realizing that she had smudged her mascara all across the white fabric. Mai wordlessly slid both gloves off, the right stained with specks of blood, the other now with smears of ruined mascara.

There was a public bathroom nearby and Mai seized the opportunity, using a sinks to wash her face. She splashed cold water to reduce the puffiness,washing away the smeared mascara around her eyes. It reminded her of a raccoon mask. "I look terrible," she croaked, catching her reflection in the long mirror. She finished scrubbing away the last of her makeup, drying her face with a paper towel. She steadied herself. _"No more tears," _she told herself. _"Not any more." _She strode out, back straight, head held up high, the sound of her heels clicking on the tile floor echoing like a church bell. _"I'll win you back if it's the last thing I do."_

_.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-._

The air was cold on her face when she met up with them. "Sorry about that guys," she apologized, flipping her hair aside. "I had to take care of something really quick. Did I miss anything?"

"Not yet," Yami Yugi answered. "The eighth duelist hasn't arrived yet."

"Kaiba looks annoyed," Mai chuckled. "This eighth duelist, whoever they are, is a master of getting on his nerves."

"Mai, are you alright?" Tea asked suddenly, interrupting.

"I'm fine, why?"

"Well, your eyes look red and your makeup is gone."

"I'm fine now," Mai lied. "I just had to get something off my face. I think some of Marik's blood got on there when I punched him."

"Which was actually kind of awesome by the way," Tristan added.

"Thanks boys. It felt rather good actually," she admitted, a faint smile crossing her lips.

"You should do it again. Maybe this time I can actually film it," Duke quipped.

"Why, need photographic proof that a girl can hit better than you?"

"Ouch."

As they finished, the doors opened up and the last duelist finally entered, stepping elegantly onto the platform. The gentle curves and hourglass frame suggested that they were female. Her face was mostly obscured by a cream colored scarf, a headdress of the same hue flowed down her back. Her electric blue eyes were locked with Kaiba's and they watched each other, like two predators circling the other.

"You're late," Seto growled impatiently.

"And you're early," she countered, one eyebrow elegantly raised.

"You can remove the mask now _Ishizu_," Kaiba declared. "This whole "mysterious fortune teller" act is getting very old and trite."

"Very well then." With an elegant touch, Ishizu pulled away the scarf, letting the fabric blow away with the wind. "Better?"

"Just shut up and duel."

"Whoever she is, she has him completely flustered," Mai said. "I'm impressed."

"She's Ishizu Ishtar, older sister to Marik Ishtar," YamiYugi explained.

"That's an unexpected turn. I didn't realize that the nutcase _had_ any siblings." Mai admitted. "I bet that Kaiba secretly has the hots for her."

"I doubt it," Duke snorted. "The only thing he loves is his Blue Eyes and Mokuba."

"Five bucks says otherwise."

"Deal."

The duel had went in an unexpected direction Mai noted, fully expecting for Kaiba to have the upper hand the entire time and for a while he did, his cards built to force Ishizu to Deck Out and lose. Then the tables rapidly turned when Ishizu played a card that forced them to switch their decks and Graveyards, giving Ishizu a nearly full deck while Kaiba hardly had any cards left. The only reason that Kaiba won was because he had sacrificed Obelisk the Tormenter for Blue Eyes. During the duel however, Mai noticed something odd; Ishizu frequently referred to her Millennium Necklace, giving her the ability to predict the future. At the same time though, Ishizu seemed uncertain about it, like the future wasn't completely set in stone, all of her moves plagued by doubt and uncertainty.

It probably cost her the duel, Mai thought, tossing her jacket carelessly over a chair as she prepared to bed. Earlier, she cleaned up the injury on her left shoulder with a damp washcloth, dabbing gently where Marik dug in his fingernails. It was mostly a bruise, a couple of cuts in the midst of it. It was minor enough that it would heal up in a day or two.

Mai sat on the edge of the bed, yawning as sleep threatened to overwhelm her senses. It had been a long weekend, the most recent events nearly draining her completely, physically and emotionally. She would have to get as much rest as possible. Tomorrow was going to be the semi final match and she wanted to be as alert as possible to duel Marik. Somebody was going to make him pay for everything and it was going to be her.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

_She leaned against the hood of her convertible, the last few rays of the sunset warm on her face as it began to sink behind the buildings. The river walk of Domino was a beautiful place to be at this time, with the river reflecting the colors of sky above, full of warm oranges, violets and peaches, but why was it so empty? Normally there would be people bustling about, going to the shops and restaurants that lined the water, but it was like a ghost town. Not that Mai complained too much, she enjoyed the peace and quiet tonight._

_ From the corner of her eye, she saw movement and turned to find Joey walking towards her, hands shoved deeply into his pants pockets with an easy smile gracing his lips. This was unexpected, Mai told herself. "Hey."_

_ "Hey Beautiful," he replied, sending Mai's stomach in an uneasy flip. He had never called her that before and she secretly loved it. He should call her that more often._

_ "What are you doing here?"_

_ Joey shrugged. "Well, I was just coming by to say "hi". And um. . ."bye"."_

_ Mai was confused. "'Bye'? You just got here."_

_ "I know, I know," Joey apologized. "I wish I didn't have to, but I do. I'm really sorry." The smile morphed into one that broke Mai's heart as he turned his back to her. "I'll see you around, Mai." _

_ "Wait, no! Come back!" The scene began to crumble away around her, like shattering glass. The river walk crumpled and vanished, leaving a white blank world around her. The vision of Joey walking away from her vanished. Replacing it was the vision of him, chained to the Stone of Ohjat, head bowed in defeat._

_ "Joey!" She ran to him, but the stone was so far away, moving away at the same pace as she ran, so she would never reach him in time. The world came to a slow and it felt like running in molasses. She had to get to him, she had to reach him and break those chains._

_ Then, there was Marik, standing before Joey, his back partially blocked to her. The dagger of the Millennium Rod was in Marik's hand, the metal glowing in a poisonous golden light. The dagger flashed down, towards Joey's heart-_

"Nooooo!" Mai jerked upright, hands clutching the sheets for dear life. Sweat coated her face and chest, tears that she thought she no longer had trailing down her cheeks. Mai let out an ugly sob, pulling her knees close to her chest, resting her chin as she hugged her knees tightly. The alarm clock read 1:32 in the morning, the red numbers so bright and harsh in the darkness. A beam of starlight highlighted her bed like a spotlight. Mai wouldn't be able to sleep now. Not for a while She threw the covers away. She decided that for reassurance's sake that she would go check on him in his room. Just in case. Just to calm her nerves, that's all. The door slid behind her as she padded out of the room, her bare feet on that cold tile floor. She blinked her eyes owlishly, her vision adjusting to the bright light. It wouldn't take long, she told herself, just a few minutes at most. She shivered, rubbing her bare arms to get some heat flowing in them. She wore just her corset top and skirt and she was regretting her choice to leave her jacket behind.

"Just a couple of minutes," she murmured, her voice awfully loud in the hall. "Just a couple."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Ishizu paced the floor of her bedroom, overwhelmed by nervous energy, the comatose body of Rishid on her bed, just out of sight from curious passersby. She had to keep Rishid away from Marik, or at least, the man who called himself Marik. Her hand went instinctively to the hollow of her neck, but the Necklace that brought her comfort was no longer there. It was now in the possession of The Pharaoh now, just as it should've been.

It was just in time too, for Ishizu was afraid that she was beginning to doubt the power and capability of the Necklace, as seen tonight. The future was now altered irrevocably from its original course. What else had changed in its wake? In the original future, Marik had discussed Seto being able read the Hieratic Text on the card of Ra. Could it be possible that in _this_ future he was unable to? Ishizu could read the text—it was her mother tongue after all—so she could tell him what the text read if he could not.

She exited the room smartly an idea springing to her as she shut the door. Marik was an expect at picking locks and opening things that he shouldn't; she had to prevent that. Archaic gestures about the lock of the door made her hands glow with a bright blue glow not seen normally in nature. Ancient hieroglyphics danced in the air, before sinking into the metal door. The spell was over, a locking spell that would only unlock to Ishizu's commands. She breathed heavily, unused to such an expenditure of energy. Once upon a time, the Necklace was an almost bottomless bounty of energy, perfect for fueling spells. Now she had to rely on her own life energy. Simple spells would now exhaust her like she had ran a mile in heels. More complicated spells would be impossible to attempt without a secondary source.

Satisfied with her work, Ishizu left it be, heading towards the room where she was positive Seto stayed and/or worked at. She rapped sharply on the door, hoping that it was the right one. It would be embarrassing if someone else answered.

"Seto," there was a sleepy mumble on the other side of the door. "Seto, I think someone is at the door."

"They better have a decent excuse to be knocking at this ungodly hour." The door opened with a hiss and Seto looked condescendingly down on her. "You enjoy being a pest, don't you?"

"I did not think I was being a pest at this hour. I came to give you advice."

"Advice from a loser like you?" Seto laughed before shutting the door behind him.

"You say that all you want but you only won because of something interfering with our duel."

"Is that what they call it nowadays?"

"Sneer all you want," Ishizu huffed, halfway tempted to roll her eyes at him in annoyance. It was like talking with a brick wall at times. "I know how to read the Hieratic Text and I came to show you the same."

Something in her statement had registration with him, for his left eye twitched, just slightly, but enough to give him away. "You know about the text then." He didn't say anything and she continued. "You know something about it," she pressed.

"I know how to read it," he whispered to her, clearly unnerved. "I don't need your assistance."

"You can read it?" Ishizu was decidedly baffled and then she remembered something from her previous vision, before everything went so drastically wrong. She wanted to ask him how, but she already knew the answer. It was the only thing that made sense, considering what had happened during their duel. "I suspected this." Seto turned away already pressing the key code on the door, pointedly ignoring her. "None of this was supposed to happen, you know." Ishizu said, hoping to get his attention once more.

He peeked over his shoulder. "Amuse me."

"Joseph Wheeler wasn't meant to be the first victim. Mai Valentine was." Ishizu swore she heard the pounding of footsteps as the last few words faded in the tense air between him.

"Hmph." Seto stepped back inside, the door shutting in her face.

Ishizu wasn't too surprised about the aftermath but at least she accomplished her mission. He didn't need help reading the Text. He can do it himself.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Mai heard the strains of a conversation reach her ears. It was the woman Ishizu, who had given Yugi the Necklace shortly thereafter her duel with Kaiba. Much to Mai's surprise, the other speaker was Seto Kaiba. They were discussing something, but Mai couldn't hear the bulk of the conversation but the final statement was loud and clear:

". . .Joseph Wheeler wasn't meant to be the first victim. . .Mai Valentine was."

The words were like a low blow to her abdomen, knocking the wind out of her. Nausea overwhelmed her and she paled, gripping the wall. The wave of nausea passed as sudden as it came, leaving her ill and unsettled in its wake. _"I was supposed to take his place,"_ she thought to herself, leaning over the sink. _"Not him. I was."_

So what changed? Why did he take her place like some sacrificial lamb to the slaughter? What had altered so drastically that _he_ would be the one tortured in the Shadow Realm instead of her? Mai stood upright, forcing the unpleasant feelings down. There would be time later. It wasn't now. She exited, heading towards his room once again, trying desperately to shut Ishizu's words out of her head.

She slid open the door, using the spare card key Serenity had given her; Joey wasn't going to be using it any time soon. His room was nearly dark, save for a single beam of starlight through the porthole window. She could hear the soft breathing of both Wheeler siblings, Joey's sounding far weaker than his sister's. Serenity was asleep, slightly slouched over in the chair by Joey's bed.

Mai crept to Serenity's side, placing a gentle hand on Serenity's shoulder. The younger Wheeler sibling slowly stirred to wakefulness. "Joey?" she inquired sleepily.

"It's me, Mai."

Serenity yawned, blinking languidly as she attempted to banish sleep from her eyes. "What's going on?"

"I came in to check on you two," she whispered.

"You should be resting," Serenity protested before she was cut off by another, larger yawn.

"As should you. And in a bed." Mai reached into her pocket, pulling out her key card. "Here, you can use mine."

Serenity shook her head. "I'll be fine here, I promise."

"Look it's okay," Mai insisted. "I don't think I'll be able to go back to sleep anyway." she finished. "I'll watch over Joey."

Serenity mulled it over. But whatever arguments she had on her lips died away, another yawn taking over instead. "Alright," she agreed.

"Good." Mai handed over the key card. "Now get some rest, okay?"

"And you?"

"I've slept in stranger places," Mai said with a shrug. "One time I woke up in the back of my convertible."

"How did that happen?"

"I have no idea."

"Good night Mai."

"Good night Serenity."

The room plunged into darkness again and Mai settled into the chair, inching it forward. It creaked horrendously, something that seemed completely out of place here in this high-tech facility. She watched the faint rise and fall of his chest for a little while, easing her presence of mind with its rhythmic nature. She reached across, placing the back of her hand on his forehead. He felt cold and clammy and she wondered if she should grab a washcloth to place on his brow. She pulled it away. She could do it later. Mai noticed that Serenity had adjusted the blankets, so that it was tucked under his arms leaving them bare and exposed. That would explain why he felt clammy and cold. He must have been sweating earlier, so his younger sister eased his suffering.

Mai moved her hand away from his brow, her fingertips running through errant strands of his hair, brushing across his cheekbone. It then rested on the bed for a moment, a few inches away from his hand. It was so tempting, to hold his hand if only for a little while. It wasn't like he would be able to feel her touch anyway.

"But maybe I could try." She said quietly. She rested her hand on his. He was so cold and still, too cold for her liking. Hesitantly, she curled her fingers in between his, easing into the gesture. His hand was like an interesting juxtaposition, his fingertips callused from years of work, yet soft and gentle at the same time. Mai leaned back in the chair, wincing at the creak of the groaning wood. She closed her eyes, falling into a still and dreamless sheep, holding his hand all the while.

** Interesting little tidbit. The time on the clock actually has meaning. It you were to add the time up, ie, the hour and the minutes together, they add up to 92, which is the episode where Mai loses her soul to Marik. **

"**It Was Always You": by Maroon 5. you'll probably see them a lot, since a lot of their songs fit Polarshipping.**


	5. Chapter 5: Into Darkness

Chapter 5: Into Darkness

The alarm blared harshly in Mai's ears, jarring her from her sleep. She yawned, slipping her hand from Joey's. Her muscles tightened in protest as she shifted in the chair, wishing that Kaiba Corp provided much better seats. "Seriously, he's a billionaire." Mai grumbled twisting her back to pop her back. "Surely he could buy nicer chairs." Mai silently sent a prayer of thanks for the coffee machine perched atop the mini refrigerator in the room. She brewed herself a mug, luxuriating in the heat spreading through her fingers and the warm liquid on her tongue. At least Kaiba didn't cut corners on the coffee. This was _exquisite_. She decided to ask Mokuba where they got their brand.

Mai nearly finished her mug of coffe when she suddenly recalled that she had left her jacket in her room, where Serenity had been staying, as she looked upon herself in the bathroom mirror. "Wish Kaiba put makeup in these bathrooms. At least we got the basic amenities," she told herself, squeezing toothpaste on the toothbrush provided. "But why they all have to say "KC" on them I'll never know."

A few minutes later, she left, knocking on her bedroom. Serenity opened it, looking disheveled and dark eyed. "Morning," she said groggily.

"Morning. Did you sleep better?" Mai asked.

"A bit. Thank you."

"It's what friends do. Wish there wasn't an annoying alarm however," Mai lamented.

"I think that alarm went off everywhere," Serenity admitted.

"Goodie," Mai grumbled. "Guess it must be Kaiba's doing."

_"Attention duelists!" _

"Or Roland," Mai added, rolling her eyes.

_"We will be arriving at our destination in a half hour-" _There was a crash and the blimp shook dangerously to one side. Serenity slung to the door frame to regain her balance, Mai nearly spilling her coffee. _"Son of a-"_

_ "Roland." _Seto's voice was commanding.

_"Sorry."_

"I did not need this first thing in the morning," Mai slid past Serenity, retrieving her jacket and boots. Serenity heard the slosh of liquid, Mai dumping the rest of her brew down the sink. Mai made her way past, clipping her deck to her thigh, slipping on her left boot as she ran awkwardly down the hall.

Serenity chuckled. "They're prefect for each other." She ran after Mai. "Wait for me!"

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Did you have to set the alarm that early in the morning?" Mai yawned. The others were already there, all in various states of sleepiness. "And _everywhere_ as well?"

"It was set up simultaneously so that people would wake up on time before we arrived," Mokuba explained. "We're going to arrive at Alcatraz in a half-hour."

"Alcatraz?" Tea asked. "That doesn't sound like a very lovely name for the Battle city tournament."

"Seto named it after the prison. It was kind of an insult to our foster father Gozaburo, who used this island as a base for military factories. When Seto took over KaibaCorp, he destroyed the military facilities and built the Duel Tower in its place." As he finished, the island loomed on the horizon, a single black tower of metal rising up from the earth.

"Kind of an 'up-yours' to your dad," Tristan said.

"Yeah."

"Mokuba!" Seto snapped. "That's enough."

"Sounds like somebody has issues," Mai huffed, studying her nails.

Kaiba muttered something under his breath, pointedly turning away from them. The blimp shuddered and groaned, tilting dangerously to one side, shaking everybody. Alarms began to go off all around the control room. The employees scrambled at their stations, the monitors flashing bright blue and green. On some of them, numbers of random order scrolled down like rain.

"What's going on?" Yugi asked Kaiba. The blimp started to tilt downwards, into the ocean under its own power. Roland was frantically typing away away at the control board.

"Your guess is a good as mine," Kaiba replied tartly. "The blimp is behaving under its own power."

"Was it hacked?" Yugi asked.

"I think so," Roland answered, still typing away, struggling in vain to fight off the security breach. "It's no use! This hacker is too sophisticated!"

The blimp tilted to the left, anybody not strapped, in sliding into the walls and expansive windows.

"Tristan, that was my leg," Mai growled. "Let go or I'll rip said appendage off and beat you with it."

". . .Sorry."

The blimp righted itself much to everybody's relief as they tumbled over into a large pile of tangled limbs and duel disks. Yugi pulled himself out from the bottom of the pile and looked out of the window in horror as a massive high tech aircraft equipped with rail guns surfaced from the ocean, a metallic leviathan, the sliding doors built into the roof opening like a cavernous maw of a sea beast. It was a wonder that such a ship of impressive size could stay undetected for so long. The blimp sank closer and closer to the abyss, many of the KaibaCorp employees giving up in seizing back control. The dark dwarfed the blimp, like a gnat to an alligator.

A large screen at the helm flickered and buzzed to life, a young man wearing white looking down upon them condescendingly. His hair was teal, eyes a light gray blue.

"Nice job Kaiba," Mai snorted. "We're being hacked by a twelve-year-old."

"Hello there Seto Kaiba," the boy began. "It is nice to see you again. I do hope you enjoy your stay."

"I demand that you release this blimp immediately!" Seto commanded.

"Kaiba, he's _twelve_. I doubt he'll listen to you." Mai drawled. Kaiba shot her a dirty look.

The boy in the screen shrugged. "I would listen to her if I were you. I don't feel like it."

"Who exactly are you?" Mokuba asked.

"You may call me 'Noa'. But either way," Noa continued. "You and I have some unfinished business to take care of, Seto."

The KaibaCorp blimp sank into the abyss of the aircraft carrier. The bunker where the blimp landed was plunged into darkness as the doors above closed. Spotlights highlighted the blimp, casting everything in stark light and shadows. The warehouse was built of sheets of metals, the rivets plainly visible. Along the edge of the wall there were turrets, machine guns mounted on the inside.

"I don't like asking more than once Kaiba," the child drawled. "Please exit the ship, and that includes the other duelists as well. No stragglers left behind."

"And if we refuse?" Kaiba sneered.

"Then you'll be trapped here, duh." The guns pivoted, their barrels facing the helm, clearly aimed towards them.

Reluctantly, Kaiba pressed button and a set of stairs swung out, allowing for a quick exit. The guns remained trained on them as Kaiba led the entourage. Mai stopped Serenity before she exited.

"I think it would be best that you stay here," Mai insisted. "It's going to be dangerous."

"I'll be fine," Serenity argued. "What's the worse that can happen?"

"That's the thing-"

"I said _all_ the Duelists," their captor growled. A couple of the guns fired on them, the bullets striking near their feet. Serenity squeaked in alarm, shrinking against the older woman. The acrid scent of gun powder filled the air. "Should I do that again?"

"There people are not your problem!" Kaiba shouted. "I'm who you want to deal with."

"Sadly, I don't think that it's just your problem any more." Yugi said.

"Precisely," Noa's disembodied voice echoed in the cavernous space. "If you would go down this hallway please, with as minimal bloodshed as possible." A floodlight illuminated a hall on the far side of the cavern. "If you would, please."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The room that the cavern opened to was large, like a stadium, filled to the l ceiling with motherboards and circuits. Wires and cords draped haphazardly over and tangled with each other on the floor. "What is the meaning of this?" Kaiba demanded.

"Quite simple." Across the room were five older men, Caucasian in features, wearing suits from the expensive designers. "We want our jobs back, and the company as well."

"That's impossible," Kaiba hissed, recognition dawning on him. "But you're supposed to be trapped in the virtual world forever."

"Ah, but Noa gave us a little deal." one of them tsked.

"I don't understand," Tea said. "Who are these people?"

"The Big Five," Mokuba answered. " Gansley, Crump, Johnson, Nesbitt, and Leichter. They tried to take over KaibaCorp after Duelist Kingdom. Seto here taught them a lesson, trapping them."

"The Big Five?" Mai paled a little, one too many memories bubbling to the surface, most of them surrounding _him_. "Not these goons again. They nearly killed us the last time."

"So then you remember, Ms. Valentine."

"Sadly yes," Mari crossed her arms. "Least you were easy to beat."

"Is that how it went?" Johnson asked. "Because last time we met, you lost the game because you stupidly attacked us after one of your fellow duelists lost." He smirked. In response, she casually flipped him the bird.

"But yes, we have a deal with Noa, and we intend on fulfilling our end of the business deal. I vote that we compete in a little Duel Monsters. If we win, we get to take over your bodies and your minds are forever trapped here, like ours once were. If you win, then you get to keep your bodies." Crump said. "First thing's first: lets show our guests a little taste of the Virtual World, shall we?"

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"The next time we see those goons," Mai groaned, sitting upright. "I'm going to give them a piece of my mind. . ." The others were sprawled about her, like they had simply been discarded like trash. They were in a clearing in the middle of a primeval forest, palm trees and ferns everywhere. A volcano rumbled in the distance, belching smoke in the otherwise pristine blue sky. The stench of sulfur pervaded all their senses.

"Get in line," Duke added.

"You know, this is really realistic." Tea sniffed the air. "It even smells realistic."

"That would be me," Tristan apologized.

"Oh that's disgusting!" Tea shoved Tristan away. "Get away!"

"Hey!" Mai protested, shoving Tristan back towards Tea. "Not over here!"

"What am I, chopped liver?"

"You sure smell like it," Tea remarked.

"If you would please," Noa's voice rumbled. "A little demonstration of how this will work. There will be a new set of rules, involving what we like to call a "Deck Master"." A hologram of a younger Seto Kaiba appeared, bearing a KaibaCorp duel disk. His opponent materialized on the other side, a monster known as Shogun Master. "A Deck Master is a monster you choose alongside you. They have different abilities that add a new dimension to the game. If your Deck Master is destroyed, or your Life Points tick to zero, you lose."

"I choose my Blue Eyes White Dragon for my Deck Master!" the simulated Kaiba called out. "First I summon my Lord of D in attack mode and I equip him with Flute of Summoning Dragon, which lets me bring two more Blue Eyes onto the field. I finally activate my Polymerization and I fuse my dragons into Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Blue Eyes, attack Shogun Master!"

"I activate my Deck Master ability!" Shogun Master countered. "By sacrificing 1000 of my Life Points, I can negate the attack and destroy the monster." The lightning blast was reflected back on itself, striking the dragon full in the chest. "Since that was your Deck Master, you lose the duel." Like his monster, the hologram version of Seto Kaiba vanished, the pixels blowing away with the wind.

"That is the most ridiculous set of rules I've ever heard of!" Kaiba scoffed.

"For once, we agree on something," Mai agreed. "Like, how on earth are we supposed to know the Deck Master abilities of _all_ the monsters? In the entire game, no less."

"That will all come in good time," Noa laughed. The prehistoric jungle disintegrated all around them, the original chamber reappearing once more. "Now, let's get our little game started." One by one, the floor under their feet gave way to a black tunnel, plunging them through the floor. Mai could feel the ground expanding, nothing for her boots to stand upon. She let out a cry as she fell through, remembering little else after that.

**This chapter is shorter because it was an easier point to break up, rather than later, where it would be awkward.**

** "Into Darkness: Thomas Bergersen. Thomas Bergersen is also known for being one half of the group Two Steps From Hell. I would give their music a listen. It's quite beautiful and epic.**


	6. Chapter 6:For The win

Chapter 6: For the Win

When she found herself sprawled on the marble tile, Mai promptly decided that the next member of the Big Five was going to get a piece of her mind, and maybe a good shot or two with her high heeled boots. She sat up, taking a quick survey of the scenery. She was on the second floor of a mansion, looking out over the main hall or foyer of sort. A staircase sloped down to the main floor. Antique paintings lined the dark wood paneled walls, while ornate suits of armor and weapons stood guard between each painting. "I'd never thought I would say this, but this place is actually creepier than my parent's house," Mai said, to no answer. She gripped the railing, making her way downstairs. "Okay you creeps, why don't you come out and we'll have ourselves a little "talk"." She popped the bones in her neck to make her point. "Kind of creepy when you decide to trap the woman _by herself_ in a mansion without anybody else here."

Mai stopped, chuckling to herself. "My lord, I sounded just like Joey then." He probably would have burst out in laughter at the response before trying to pull of some Disney Prince routine, thinking she needed rescuing. As if she ever needed rescuing in the first place. She wondered how he was doing, alone in the blimp, with only the sociopath to keep him company. Hopefully Marik was distracted with something else at this point to leave Joey alone. If he wasn't. . .Mai shuddered at the possibilities. "I've gotta get out of here as soon as possible."

There was a hallway to her left and with no other exits known to her at this time, she decided to take it. Mai stopped though, an idea coming to her. There were two sets of armor at the foot of the steps, each with swords in their possession. Mai removed the gauntlets and threw them aside, exposing the hilt and pommel of the blade. She gripped it and began to tug but it held fast. Growing frustrated, Mai jerked harder and with a screeching hiss, the blade flew out, sending Mai back a few steps, the sword clattering to the floor with a metallic ring. She crouched down, picking the blade up. It was a simple longsword, with sharp edges and a well made and sturdy hilt.

"Just in case," Mai told herself, hefting the sword over her right shoulder. "Better safe and sorry." Mai peered down the hallway. It was faintly lit by hanging crystal chandeliers.

"Nice job," she snorted sarcastically. "Let's make this _more_ disturbing than it already is. At least the blonde usually lives in the horror movies." She took one step, then another and upon her satisfaction that nothing was out to snatch her up, she entered the hallway.

It seemed to go on forever, with hardly a change in scenery. The walls were of a dark stained wood, further adding to the vibe. There was a creak behind her and Mai froze, spinning about, the sword held out in front of her in the classic fencer's stance. She held the position a little longer and when the noise passed, she relaxed. "It's not a fencing rapier," she said to the sword. "But hey, a blade's a blade, right?" Her former fencing instructor, one of the many "instructors" that her mother and father hired in her childhood, would have been disappointed.

She huffed in annoyance. How could a hall go on _forever_? It was an impossibility. "Little twerps." In response, she struck the right wall with the pommel of the sword. The wall cracked, small chunks falling away from the point of impact. "What the?-" Curiously, she tapped the cracked region with a fingernail and more miniscule pieces fell away, exposing something metallic behind it. "I wonder. . ." She hefted the sword over her left shoulder like a baseball and swung with all her might. The sword held fast into the wall with a harsh "clang" as it sliced through the false panel, into the metal behind it. She yanked the blade out and swung again, knocking away more and more of the offending object until a sizable hole emerged. She dropped the sword onto the ground, deciding that it was no longer needed at the moment.

The panel that Mai had thought was in actuality a door, judging by the seam in the center. She used her boots to remove the debris and tentatively pressed on the door. The door did not budge and she adjusted her tactic, leaning her left shoulder against the seam and pushing as hard as she could. The door swung in suddenly and she fell over, her ankle catching onto something and twisting it sharply. She hissed and gingerly stood back up, gauging the extent of her ankle injury. It wasn't so bad that she was unable to put her weight on it, thankfull. Mai found herself in the warehouse where the blimp was stored and she laughed in surprise. This was unexpected! She trotted before breaking into a full on run, pivoting neatly to bound up the stairs excitedly.

The hall was quiet, too quiet for her liking. "Hello, is anybody there?" She asked, heart beginning to increase in pace. The hair on the back of her neck and arms stood up on end. "Something's not right. . ."

There was a door towards the end that was open, shrouded in darkness. "That's Joey's room," she remarked. "Oh no. . ." She ran to it, pausing just at the frame, in case there was an intruder. But there was no one save for Joey, still in the bed, face slick with the sheen of sweat like he was in the throes of a nightmare.

"Joseph," she went to him, heart sinking at the sight. There was no change at all to his condition. He was still trapped in the dark. She fought the temptation to brush back some of the hair that obscured his face.

His eyes suddenly shot open, taking her aback. "Joey? You're awake!" He said nothing, rubbing his eyes as he sat upright. Joey pulled the covers of the bed away, shifting himself until he sat on the edge of the bed. "So," Mai said coolly, "You just going to give me the silent treatment or what?"

"You should really pay more attention to your surroundings, Ms. Mai Valentine," the sound that came out of Joey's mouth was not his. "You're so much better than that." the features changed and contorted, revealing a man with thinning hair and small rectangular glasses, in an expensive black suit. He adjusted his business tie, smirking just a touch.

Mai took a couple of steps back, wishing that she still had the sword in her possession. "What the hell?" She spat.

"Allow me to greet myself." He took Mai's hand, slipping a business. "I am Johnson, former head of the legal department of KaibaCorp."

Mai rolled her eyes, snatching her hand away from Johnson's. "Oh great, lawyers. I hate lawyers."

"A pity," Johnson replied nasally. "Because you're about to take part in the trial of the century."

"It it too soon to say that I'm already tired of the Law and Order puns?"

The scenery melted away and she found herself in a courtroom, standing behind the platform of the defendant. Johnson stood behind the judge's podium, no longer the man in the designer suit but instead the monster, Judge Man, holding a gavel in one hand. "The People v. Mai Valentine will now begin! I have no need for a Deck Master, for I already am one."

"Will you stop with the courtroom puns already? It's not even five minutes and I need to hit you in the head with that stupid hammer-"

"Gavel." Johnson corrected her.

"Whatever. First you pretend to be a boy in a coma, now you're having some sort of Law and Order fetish over there. I am so done here." A screen of Duel Monster cards appeared in front of her. "So I guess I pick my cards from here?" Mai tentatively tapped on a card. "Okay, that is kind of cool. _Kind of._" She emphasized, eyes narrowed. Two cards stood out in particular. _"Red Eyes Black Dragon," _she thought, looking at the first one. She instinctively tapped on it. The second intrigued her, for she have never heard of it. _"Arduous Decision. Hmmm. . .I bet I could find a use for it. _For my Deck Master, I choose my Cyber Harpie."

"Duel!"

"I summon Hysteric Angel in attack mode and the prosecution will rest its case."

Mai sighed gustily. "It's never gonna end, is it? Well, I summon Cyber Harpie in attack mode and then the equip card Cyber Shield, which increases her attack by 500. Say bye to your Hysteric Angel!" Cyber Harpie slashed through Hysteric Angel, cutting Johnson's points to 3700. "Then I play one card face down and end my turn."

Johnson drew a card. It wasn't the card he needed at the moment, but he could fix that. Lawyers fixed situations all the time; dueling was the same thing. The image on the card shifted and changed to one he was satisfied. "I set one card face down and end my turn."

"Wow, real crafty there," Mai said sarcastically. She drew and bit her lip. The Red Eyes Black Dragon had already shown up in her hand, almost too quickly for her liking. _"Coincidence, or something else entirely? I'll set it aside for later. I don't know what this sleazeball of a lawyer is planning. _I summon Unfriendly Amazon in attack mode and I attack your face down card." Unfriendly Amazon drove her sword through the face down card, destroying it, revealing the monster "Slekengel"

"You activated its flip effect, which allows me to draw one card." Johnson smirked as he drew another card.

"But I still get to knock you down a few pegs. Cyber Harpie, attack Johnson directly!" Johnson grimaced as his points went from 3700 to 1700. "Wow, looks like the Big 5 ain't as "big" as I thought."

"This is only a minor setback," Johnson drawled. " Besides, I drew the card that will effectively dismantle the defense's case and then I'll be able to escape to the real world in your body."

"That's a little creepy and disgusting," Mai interrupted. "You really aren't helping your case, buster. See, I can do the puns too."

"I place Mystical Elf in defense mode and set one card face down."

"Hmph. Cyber Harpie, attack Mystical Elf."

"I activate the ability of my Deck Master. By sacrificing 1000 of my Life Points, I can destroy all of your monsters on the field and for each monster, you lose 500 of your Points as well." Her two monsters shattered as a bolt of light pierced them both in the chest. Mai was repelled back from the blast, striking the middle of her back on the wooden railing that separated the galley from the defendant. "And if the defendant rests their case."

"Just shut up and go already, you twit." Mai rapped her nails on the wooden podium, growing impatient with the lawyer.

"Very well. I summon Curtain of the Dark Ones and then play Polymerization, creating Kamionwizard!" Kamionwizard didn't seem like much, reminding Mai of a jester clothed in black and red, bearing a scythe. "Finally I play the card Sinister Justice, which lets any Fusion Monster attack on the same turn it was summoned, so Kamionwizard, attack Mai directly!" Mai shielded herself from the blow, which whittled her points down to 1700. "Then as an added bonus, if the Fusion monster that attacked is Level Four or lower, I gain 800 life points."

"Dammit," Mai muttered. _"How was he able to set things up _so _quickly? It takes forever to set up strategies like that, that's why duelists often have multiple strategies built into a deck, in case one can't work out._ I summon my Amazon Fighter in defense mode."

Johnson once again looked down at the card he drew. It was not the card he needed, again, so Johnson decided to take it upon himself to "tweak" it. He could take no chances. He had to escape this nightmare. Monster Reborn morphed into Leading Question. There, much better. "I play the card Leading Question which lets my Fusion monsters gain 800 attack points during the Battle Phase. Kamionwizard attack Amazon Fighter! And I gain another 800 Life Points as well." Johnson began to laugh. "You can't be on the defense forever!"

"Watch me." Mai drew. She had implanted some powerful monster in her deck,"_That Arduous Decision could work, but in the meantime, I'm going to have to wait._ I summon Amazoness Paladin in attack mode. Finally I place one card face down and end my turn. Make your move." A plan was formulating in her mind, but it needed the right cards to work. She prayed that Yugi's whole"Heart of the Cards" will work a second time.

"Seems that the defense's case has already rested," Johnson mocked.

"Look bud, I've been a card shark for pretty much my adult life and I can tell when some dirtbag is cheating. I haven't figured out how yet, but when I do, you're gonna wish you hadn't."

"You got this Mai!" Mai spun around to find Yugi and Tea waving at her, running through the aisles of the benches. Both looked freezing, the flush of red on their cheeks, Yugi rubbing his arms to get warm.

"What. . .how? How did you guys get here? We were all separated. And why do you guys look like you just ran through the Arctic tundra?"

"That would be because we were kind of there," Tea explained.

"Objection, The defendant may not discuss strategy with the witnesses."

"Also he really likes making courtroom puns," Mai snorted. She turned back to Johnson. "I'm getting there you moron. I'm going to make you regret _ever_ dueling me!"

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Noa caught onto Johnson's plan right away. With so many eyes everywhere, he could easily spy on the movements of everybody in his Virtual World. An all-knowing, omnipotent god he was, yes. Noa thoughtfully leaned on one hand, watching the duel in the courtroom. Did Mai Valentine catch onto his act? Maybe, it was hard to determine; she was a inscrutable duelist to read, perhaps even more so in the wake of the quarterfinals of Battle City. Johnson never stood a chance against her in any other duel, save that one he set up from the beginning.

"I should have used more useful goons," Noa sighed wistfully. "Ones that wouldn't resort to cheating to even have a chance at winning."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_"Hmm, the last card I will need for this duel," _Johnson thought to himself, watching as the card morphed from De-Fusion to Reinforcements of the Army. "Its a pity that this trial must end so soon Ms. Valentine," Johnson lamented. "First I summon One Eyed Shield Dragon in attack mode then I play Reinforcements of the Army, which allows me to move one Level Four of lower Warrior type monster from my deck to my hand. Then I use Polymerization on my One Eyed Shield Dragon and Armaill which I pulled from my deck for make Dragoness the Wicked Knight. Now my monsters, take out her last line of defense!" Dragoness the Wicked Knight was a female dressed in grass green and cream hued armor that reminded Mai of dragon scales. She bore a pair of crooked scimitars for weapons. A pair of wings unfurled from her back as she lunged forward, her scimitars bared.

"Not so fast! I play Mirror Wall, which stops the attack and cuts your monsters' attack points in half!" Both monsters were repelled by the glass barrier, flying back to Johnson's side of the field. "And since there wasn't any battle Damage, you don't gain back any Life Points." Johnson grimaced. "How do you like them apples, bud?"

"You'll pay for this!"

"Oh will she now?" A young man dressed in white slammed open the courtroom doors, a smug expression gracing his lips.

"Noa?" Yugi asked.

Noa was nothing in reply, turning to Johnson. "You know, I should have known better than to hire people like you to duel, especially if they're so desperate to rig the duel in their favor."

"So he was cheating then," Mai said, her suspicions confirmed.

"Quite. If it wasn't a card he was pleased with, he changed it to one he needed at that moment. It's what I get for hiring people like you. Now it's time for you to get your comeuppance. I will _not_ tolerate cheating!"Noa raised a hand, ready to banish him into the far depths of the virtual realm.

"Please!" Johnson pleaded. "You must understand! I was desperate-"

"Hold on there," Mai injected. "Don't I get a say in this?"

Noa paused. "And what do you recommend his punishment to be?"

"Let him finish out the duel, as long as he plays fair."

"So you want me to show mercy then?" Noa asked, one eyebrow raised, his curiosity piqued.

"Naw, I just want to be the one that completely blows him out of the water."

Noa crossed his arms, satisfied with her explanation. "Cutthroat huh? I _like_ how you think."

"Kid, I am so out of your league."

"That's. . .sort of disturbing," Tea added after a pause. Yugi said nothing, instead nodding in agreement, a mildly disgusted look on his face.

Mai drew a card. "I play Pot of Greed, then I move my Deck Master to the field. Next I summon another Cyber Harpie and I sacrifice both of them to bring Red Eyes Black Dragon to the field!"

"Red Eyes?" Tea turned to Yugi, surprise on her face. "But that's. . ."

"You're telling me."

"Next I play the card Harpie's Feather Duster and wipe both Sinister Justice and Leading Question from the field, in case this plan goes bust." A storm of feathers swept across the field, taking both cards with it. "Then the piece _de la resistance, _Arduous Decision."

Johnson looked rather confused at the card. "Arduous Decision?"

"Yeah and here's how it works. I pick two cards from the top of my deck and you have to pick one of them. If it's a Trap or Magic Card, then both cards go to the Graveyard. If its a monster, I get to summon it directly from my hand to the field." Mai drew both cards, flashing them in the air. One was Simorgh, Bird of Ancestry, the other, Rose Whip. "So what it'll be, Johnson? Bet you can't cheat your way out of this one."

Underneath the Judge Man suit, Johnson began to pale. There was no way he could win this one, but there was a chance that he could survive it long enough to draw the right cards again."I um. . ."

"First time I've seen a lawyer sweat," Mai taunted. "I thought you guys were good at this sort of thing." In her left hand was Simorgh, Bird of Ancestry; the right held Rose Whip.

"I pick the right one!" Johnson blurted.

Mai raised a coy eyebrow. "You sure?"

"I um. . .yes! I'm sure!"

Mai smiled. "Sucks to be you. . ."

"No I change my mind! I choose the left one!"

Mai feigned a crestfallen expression, to further lure Johnson. "Well if you have to. . ." She slapped the card down onto the disk. "Simorgh, Bird of Ancestry take the field!" Simorgh was a massive bird, with feathers the hue of sunlight and burnished gold. Its face was like an eagle, with a crimson and gold mandala pendant mounted on its brow. It possessed two pairs of wings, taloned hands protruding from each joint. The primaries and secondary feathers on its wings were of a banded cream and gold. Long tail feathers the same hue as the wings spread out behind like a fan. A necklace of bleached claws and a pendant of jade rested on its collarbone. An ornamental crest of hammered gold sat upon its back, a physical representation of its divinity.

"What?" Johnson yelled. "I picked the left one! I was _positive_ it was a Magic card!"

"Like I said, card shark." Mai cracked her knuckles. "This is going to be fun. Simorgh, attack Kamionwizard with Shining Feathered Blast!" Simorgh screeched, the earth quaking under their feet with the reverberation with the sound. Simorgh flapped its wings once, sending a wave of golden light towards Kamionwizard. It tried in vain to shield itself from the light but it disintegrated, pieces of it sloughing off with the blast. Johnson's Life Points dipped down to 700. "Now its Red Eyes turn. Red Eyes, take out Dragoness, the Wicked Knight!" Red Eyes spewed an orb of red fire and black lightning, striking Dragoness full in the chest and she was blasted into oblivion. The last of Johnson's Life Points vanished along with his monster.

"Finally, Amazoness Paladin finish him off-"

"Mai!" Yugi reached across the railing, gripping her forearm. "Johnson already lost! You don't need to attack any more."

Mai paused in her movements, watching as Johnson began to dissipate into pixels. Noa had vanished as well, sometime during the duel, she recalled. She dropped her arm, horrifically realizing what she was about to do. "I—I didn't even think about it. I just. . ." It dawned on her just why she was set on attacking him, even after his Life Points were depleted. _"He took advantage of my memories. . ."_

"It's okay Mai," Yugi offered. "We understand."

"Do you?"

"Its just a duel," Tea told her reassuringly. "You probably didn't even realize it."

"Yeah, I guess." Mai shrugged, stepping out from behind the podium. "That ending was pretty awesome though," she admitted, fist bumping both of them.

"It was, but why the Red Eyes?"

"Because, you wanna keep the enemy on their toes. They weren't expecting it so I took advantage," she lied, feeling slightly guilty in the aftermath of the deception.

Yugi didn't seem to by it, judging by the skepticism etched on his face. Thankfully he said nothing of it. "Okay, so three members of the Big Five have been defeated: Gansley, Crump, and Johnson. That leaves two left."

"Since Noa seems to be targeting Kaiba specifically, chances are one of those two will go after him and the last. . .Oh no. . ." Mai trailed off.

"What?" Tea asked, concern in her voice.

"They're desperate to escape this place. They'll go after the weakest link. Serenity doesn't even know how to play the game!"

"We need to get to her before they do!" Mai bolted out of the side doors where Noa had made his grand entrance, with Yugi and Tea running hurriedly behind.

"Wait for us!"

**For the Win is preformed by Two Steps from Hell.**

** Yeah. . .they'll pop up quite a bit here.**

**So I'm sure you guys are wondering why the duel went the way it did. That would be because Mai became stuck between a rock and a hard place. Her deck relies on a "Swarming" strategy, summoning as many monsters as she can, and quickly, before powering them up and overwhelming her opponent. They are also relatively low powered, mainly ranging around the Level Four range. Johnson can take quick advantage of this by using his Deck Master ability, clearing her field in a single move. Had she used cards like Elegant Egotist or Nightmare Tri-Force Mirror, Johnson would have won in a few short turns, knocking her life Points down in large chunks. This is why she went on the defensive. If she attacked, Johnson would have activated his ability and whoops, there goes her plan flying out the window.**

** Why Johnson didn't do it his final turn? He was so rattled by Mai pulling the wool over his eyes he completely forgot. Psychological warfare on Mai's part.**


	7. Chapter 7: Wind Queen

Chapter 7: Wind Queen

**I think that this chapter is easily my favorite thus far. You'll see why shortly. **

Serenity stirred, sitting upright. She appeared to be in a verdant field, the grass between her fingers lush and thick. The sky above was a bright baby blue, with clouds that reminded her of cotton balls. "It's so beautiful," she marveled. "And everything looks so real!" She looked out across a small lake, where a small flock of white swans floated across the still waters, leaving a small trail of ripple in their wake. Serenity pulled her knees to her chest, watching the swans. "This place doesn't seem too bad after all," she mused, enjoying the quiet scenery. Something seemed to stir the swans and they flew off, alarmed.

"That's odd." She took a quick glance around wondering what could have caused the commotion, but there was nothing. She absently watched the flight of the swans as they soared over the nearby copse of trees. Then, just as they passed over the trees, they vanished, like they had simply flown off-screen in a video. This baffled Serenity even more. "If everything is so realistic, then why did they just vanish like that? I mean, it _is_ a virtual world, but everything else is so. . ." She trailed off, unable to complete her sentence. "Maybe it was a glitch in the programming?" She decided that she was going to investigate, so she dusted the blades of grass off her legs and shorts and made her way to the trees and beyond. There had to be an answer there."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The cavern loomed before them when Mai flung open those courtroom doors. "Son of a—how are we supposed to get to her now?" She asked in exasperation, before storming into its depths. Tea ran shortly after her, with Yugi lagging behind the two women.

"Wait! Slow down!" Yugi panted. "I got short legs, remember?"

The cavern was dank and cold, with no natural light. The gray stone loomed over them like a tomb. Stalagmites and stalactites punctuated the otherwise bland landscape, like sentinels watching over eternity. They heard water dripping down from the ceiling, pooling into small puddles at their feet and running down in rivulets down the stone edifices, eroding and reforming all in its path. There was no breeze, so the air had a stagnant quality to it.

"It stinks in here," Tea said, her voice echoing on the stone. "Like old wet laundry."

"Thank you for that mental image," Mai replied sarcastically.

"This is different from how Noa had it set up when I was looking for Tea," Yugi remarked.

"How did he set it up for you?" Mai asked.

"It looked kind of like a tunnel from "Tron" and every now and then there were these junctures where there were doors with stars over the frame. The stars represented the level of different monsters behind them. Defeat the monsters and you could pass," Yugi explained

"Think he'll do that here?" Tea asked.

"Not with three duelists," Mai answered. "It would be too easy for us to pass through."

"Makes you wonder though. . ."Tea mused thoughtfully. "What Noa will do then."

"Nothing too stupid. I'm getting tired of these games they're playing," Mai said tersely.

"Something's bothering you." Yugi stated.

"What gave you that idea?"

"Because you never attack like that in a duel. Overkill like that is not how you play at all. Did he say something or do something?"

Mai breathed gustily, casting a glance upwards to steel herself. "He. . .he took advantage of my memories. . .Johnson pretended to be Joey in the blimp."

"Oh." That would explain why Mai had been so upset and keen on wiping Johnson off the map in a single turn. "I'm sorry."

Mai shrugged her shoulders. "The sleazebag got what he deserved in the end." The comment set Yugi on edge. Mai was never this harsh nor cutthroat during a duel.

_Something's changed," _Yugi thought, but decided to not bring it up. _"And I think I know why."_

The cave remained perpetually dark and damp, with no natural lighting to illuminate their path. Their footsteps echoed in the emptiness, alongside the continuous trickles of water. Tea shivered. "I think it might even be colder here than it was in that Arctic place."

Mai nodded, tugging at her jacket and skirt, trying to retain heat as well. "You would think that for being in some virtual world, we wouldn't _be_ cold."

"It's unusual," Yugi admitted, peering about. "Tea, do you want my jacket?"

"Um hello? Another freezing woman over here," Mai teased. "Chivalry much?" Yugi began to stammer in confusion, heat rushing to his cheeks. Tea appeared to be just as embarrassed and Mai chuckled. "I'm just teasing you two, don't worry." Mai gave a Yugi a playful punch on the shoulder. "You're easy to mess with you know that?"

"I-um. . ." Yugi stuttered unevenly as he rubbed his shoulder. Yami's deep chuckle rattled in his head. _"Yami, you're not helping."_

_ "It is somewhat amusing," _was his reply.

Tea caught a glimpse of something metallic in the distance. "Hey guys, it's a door!"

"A door?" Mai asked. "Are you sure you're not like, hallucinating or something—huh, will you look at that. It is a door."

A six foot tall door of steel was mounted into the stone fifteen yards from where they were standing. Rivets lined the edges, the traces of rust about them as rings and streaks as the humidity of the cavern taking its toll. Mai gave an experimental nudge using her hand. "It's not budging. I can hear creaking, but nothing's moving." She shoved it harder the second time, but the door refused to swing open. Growing ever more vexed, Mai pounded at the door with a fist. She stood back, with arms crossed. "Stupid door. We're gonna kick it down."

"We?"

"Well, I'm not using the royal 'we'." Mai smirked. "Okay, on three, we'll kick it at the same time."

"I feel like this plan is going to go wrong on so many levels," Yugi muttered under his breath.

"Okay. One. . .two. . .three!"

The three of them struck the door at once. With a rusted screech of metal scrapping on metal, the door swung outwards. They fell forward in an undignified heap, with hapless Yugi in between Mai and Tea.

"How did you guys find me?"

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Serenity wandered through the trees, her hands occasionally brushing up against the rough and cool bark underneath. Shafts of sunlight pierced the floor below, causing a lovely dappled affect that appeared perfect.

Too perfect, Serenity noted.

Everything here had an almost too pristine quality about it that set her on edge. Even the fallen leaves were in perfect arrangements. "Is it a trap?" she mused aloud to no one. "No, not a trap. Just a false reality, made up in some computer using. . .what were they called? Right, algorithms!"

Her thoughts were disrupted with the sound of pounding. "What was that?" It was coming from beyond the grove of trees, maybe the same place where the swans went. She went to the grove's edge, ducking behind a tree, only to peek around the trunk, should something appear. There was nothing and she crept forward. The landscape seemed distorted now, like a painting. It looked realistic, but there was no substance. Everything made sense then and Serenity felt the sensation of claustrophobia creep up on her.

She was trapped in a sort of gigantic box but a cage would be a more apt description.

The pounding noise from earlier roared back with a vengeance, even more sharper than before.

Then, a door?

An iron door swung out as Mai, Yugi and Tea stumbled out, each of them looking rather confused.

"How did you guys find me?" Serenity asked, peering down on them.

Mai recollected herself first. "Oh thank heavens we found you before they did!"

"The Big Five?"

"Yeah." As she finished, the landscape began to fizzle and pop, like a old television short circuiting, the trees and landscape phasing in and out. Underneath the facade of lush grass and crystal waters, Mai could see the makings of a warehouse or factory. Eventually the true intentions of it were known as a smelting factory emerged, an interesting paradox to what had been before. They could taste the hot tang of molten metal on their tongues, the heat on their skin. The air had a wavy property to it, like the air above hot asphalt.

A disembodied voice rang through the air, deep but robotic in choppy in structure. "It would seem that you have fallen into my trap."

"Kind of a lame one if you ask me," Tea snorted derisively, looking around.

"You won't be saying that once we take over your bodies." What sounded like heavy footsteps came closer and closer.

"Oh great, robots," Mai said, eying the robot in the formal military regalia that was a throwback to the 19th century. "So which member of the Big Five are you supposed to be?"

"I am Nezbitt. I was once the technical expert for KaibaCorp, until _Seto Kaiba_ destroyed my military factories for his childish games. How ironic that we will be using the technologies we despise to dispose of him and his company." Nezbitt, in his robotic form, jabbed a finger at Serenity. "I will be dueling the female known as Serenity Wheeler first." A duel disk materialized into existence on her left forearm. Serenity let out a small cry of panic, trying to slip off the KaibaCorp Disk.

"You listen here Mr. Robotto-" Mai snarled, pointing. "Serenity doesn't even know how to duel! You're a coward for taking her on first!"

"It is not cowardly if it is a tactical advantage."

"I'll shove that "tactical advantage" right up your- You know what," Mai said, an idea dawning on her. Maybe she could play coach to Serenity during the duel. "Let's make this a tag team duel. Me and Serenity, versus you."

"Are you sure about this?" Tea asked.

"I already beat one member of the Big Five. A second one can't be that hard."

Nezbitt studied the possibility for only a second. If either one of them fell, during the duel, he would have an easy pass out of this place. "Very well, but no one else may interfere and you are not allowed to discuss strategy, or you'll fall into the waste below and be disqualified." Pieces of the floor slid away, revealing a pit of seething hot liquid the color of molten metal.

"Seems a bit extreme," Mai said, eying the pit of bubbling, roiling waste.

Nezbitt brandished a duel disk. "Duel!"

Serenity turned to Mai in a panic. "Mai I don't know what I'm doing. I've never played the game!"

"Serenity, I want you to listen to me right now. You're a lot braver and smarter than you think! I know you can do this and I bet you that if your brother were here right now, he would be saying the exact same thing. Don't let this Transformer wannabe freak you out. You're a Wheeler and you Wheelers don't take crap from anybody! So I say, let us kick his ass back to the scrapheap!"

Serenity swallowed nervously. "Alright. I trust you."

_"I hope I'm right,"_ Mai thought to herself. "My Deck Master will be Cyber Harpie."

"And mine will be Goddess of the Third Eye!" Serenity called out, her voice wavering a touch. She prayed that she could be as strong as Mai was. She never seemed fazed by anything, a quip always on her lips as she backed her opponent into a corner. _"No wonder Joey likes her so much." _The Goddess was a brunette clad in forest green robes, a sideways third eye on her forehead.

"I'll move first, then Serenity, then you. Ladies first," Mai told Nezbitt. She peeked down at her hand and it couldn't have been any more perfect. "First I play my Cyber Harpie in Attack mode, then I'm activating my Deck Master's special ability: by sending one card to my graveyard and sacrificing 800 of my Life Points, I can place one Wind Monster card from my deck to my hand. Then I'll set two cards face down and end my turn. Watch and learn, Nezbitt."

Serenity nervously drew a card. The Forgiving Maiden, that was pretty strong, right? "I summon The Forgiving Maiden, in attack mode as well!" Serenity turned to Mai. "Did I do that right?"

Mai flashed her a thumbs up. "You're doing fantastic. Keep it up."

"Hmmph, a pitiful move," Nezbitt remarked casually, eying his hand.

"Shut your trap, Mr. Robotto," Mai growled dangerously.

"And for that insolence, I'll attack her first!" Nezbitt crowed. "I summon Giga-Tech Wolf in Attack Mode and now I'll attack her Forgiving Maiden." Giga- Tech Wolf, a beast with cybernetic implants and slathering fangs lunged forward.

"Not this time!" Mai shouted. "Activate Mirror Wall!" Giga-Tech Wolf collided violently with the glass, clawing and biting fruitlessly to get to Serenity's monster. "Finish it off Serenity!"

"Now Forgiving Maiden, attack Nezbitt's monster!" The woman in robes summoned a beam of light from the heavens, piercing through the thick fur and armor. The wolf mournfully howled before being destroyed. Nezbitt's points dropped to 3850.

"You can't play that game all the time," Nezbitt chided Mai. "I'll get to her eventually."

"Yeah right," Mai snorted.

"I play a card face down and end my turn."

"Good, because it's my move and I can't wait to play it. First I move my Deck Master to the field and I sacrifice both my Harpies to summon Simorgh, Bird of Ancestry. Fun fact, since I tributed two Wind monsters to summon it, I can banish two cards from the field to your hand, so say goodbye to your face down."

"Yeah, since Mai cleared the field, that leaves him wide open for attack!" Tea exclaimed excitedly to Yugi.

"But she's not attacking," Yugi remarked. "Why isn't she?"

"Maybe she's waiting on something."

"Maybe. . ." he sounded doubtful.

Mai gave Serenity a half bow. "Take it away Serenity."

"Alright. Serenity drew. There was St. Joan, a fusion monster that required both the Forgiving Maiden and Marie, the Fallen One. _"What did Tristan say about the game? Right! You can fuse monsters together to create even stronger ones using Polymerzation! But I don't have Polymerization. . ."_

_ "I think I can help with that."_

_ "Was that you?"_ Serenity asked her Deck Master.

_"My ability allows me to fuse monsters together without the need for it. All you have to do is sacrifice one of your magic cards in your hand to activate it."_

_ "That's one of the green ones, right?"_ Her Deck Master nodded. "I think I got this. First I summon my Lady Panther in attack mode, to sacrifice for Marie, the Fallen One." Marie the Fallen One, a young woman with tattered wings and an iron mask over her face, appeared alongside the Forgiving Maiden.

"There you go Serenity!" Mai said encouragingly.

"Then I activate Goddess of the Third Eye's ability. When I discard a magic card, she can fuse two of my monsters together, and I choose my Forgiving Maiden and Marie the Fallen one to create St. Joan!"

"My move. First I summon Cyber Falcon to the field, only to tribute it to summon Machine King. Then I move myself to the field and fuse myself with it using Polymerization and form Perfect Machine King." Perfect Machine King was sleek and imposing in stature, clad in white and red armor

"I'm now getting Gundam vibes," Yugi admitted out loud. Tea snickered in response.

"Next I activate my magic card, Clockwork Night, which turns all your monsters into Machine types. This give Perfect Machine King a bonus of 500 for each of your monsters, which brings my total up to 3700, more than enough to wipe out St. Joan. Even more so since your monster loses 500 attack points. Then, I'll take you out next turn!" Nezbitt snarled to Mai. "Now I will attack St. Joan!"

"St. Joan, defend yourself!" Serenity called out, her voice shrill with fear.

Mai slid two cards into her graveyard, and shouted, "I play my new Deck Master's special ability, Wings of Unity! By discarding two cards, with one of them being a Wind Type Monster, I can join forces with Serenity's St. Joan, which jumps St. Joan's Attack to 4700!"

"What? No, this cannot be!" Nezbitt stammered. "I—I recall my attack! I won't attack St Joan this turn!"

"Too late now," Mai scolded, wiggling her pointer finger. "According to the rules, once you declare an attack, you have to go through with it. Now go! Wings of Unity!"

"No!" Nezbitt moaned, unable to stop himself. Simorgh flew across the field, all four wings raised to the sky as St. Joan's attack soared to 4700. St. Joan deflected the blow with her longsword, shimmering with holy light thanks to Mai's monster, and thrust it through Perfect Machine King's abdomen region. He let out an unholy scream as he was blasted apart into nothing more into floating pixels in the space. There was an eerie silence in the aftermath, the metal slabs rumbling back into their original positions.

Mai sniffed scornfully. "Queen of Games, punk."

Serenity gazed in awe. She had been terrified at first, but now there was an exhilaration that sang through her veins. This must be how her friends felt when they dueled as well. "That. . .that was really awesome!"

"Well, I couldn't have done it without you." Mai told her.

"Really?"

"Really. Let's go find the boys and rub it in at how awesome we were."

** In which we veer _majorly _off the course of canon into the ditch of "I don't give a flying shit and I do what I want." This chapter was mostly Bara's fault, but I'm not complaining because this was epic. Girl Power yo! Which I felt was desperately needed in the original series. **

** There was a need; I fulfilled it.**

** Basically, Serenity's inner monologue went like this: "I'm dueling with senpai! Senpai noticed me!"**

** *gets shot***

** Then I completely BS'ed Simorgh's Deck Master ability and I have absolutely no shame about. Like a boss.**


End file.
